


Stand By Me

by VolsungartheMighty



Series: Stand By Me [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Intelligent Liam, Jock Liam, Liam helps theo, M/M, Nerd Theo, Theo is a loner, Theo is a writer, Theo knows he needs help, Theo needs help, awkward Theo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-04-27 00:37:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14413890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolsungartheMighty/pseuds/VolsungartheMighty
Summary: After an accident kills his family, Theo is thrown into the foster system, moving from place to place, always being a loner and an outcast at each new school. He finds solace in his music, and his writing. When he returns to Beacon Hill's, he is drawn towards the star Lacrosse Captain, Liam Dunbar, and for once wants to share his writing, rather than hid it away. But after an incident with Stiles, he finds it even harder to share his writing with others.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I'm shit at summaries. Hope you like it though  
> So i kind of used music for inspiration for this, and so put various verses and choruses into it. The first song is We Are Murders (We All) By Xandria. The Second is Fight Your Demons by Epica. Both really great songs, and worth listening to.

Being the new guy at school… well, it wasn’t the greatest of experiences. Theo knew that feeling intimately, but it had been one he had been forced to get used to during middle school.

The feeling of being an outsider at school, where he was meant to make friends and play sports, where they would gossip over the newest revelations about their class mates, who was dating who, who was cheating on their partner and who with. Promises of catching up with each other on weekends, passing the time with video games and pizza.

But none of that had been what Theo had enjoyed. Instead, every time he started at a new school, everyone wanted to know him that very first day, before quickly losing interest in the new guy. No one wanted a social outcast to join their pre-set cliques. No one wanted an awkward, nerd boy playing sports with them, screwing up their games. And so, unfortunately, Theo learnt to stop trying to make friends. He learnt to find solace in his music, in his writing, in his art.

His music blaring loudly so as to drown out everyone else, Theo made his way through the school halls, making his way outside, heading towards some seats that sat near the edge of the preserve. Once seated, he pulled out a thick, leather bound journal, sheafs of paper sticking out of it haphazardly. He flipped it open to an empty page near the middle, pulled out a pencil and began writing.

He hadn’t written much more than a few sentences before someone dropped into the seat next to his. He hastily closed his book, lest someone see the contents within, before he looked over to see who it was.

“So whatcha got there, Raeken” Stilinski asked, a wolfish grin on his face. “Since when have you had a diary?”

And this was why Theo had been… hesitant, to say the least, when he moved back to Beacon Hills. Not because of Stilinski, no. But because he had a history with this town. He had been to school with some of these people when he was younger, even been friends with them. And while McCall might not remember him well, it sure seemed like Stilinski did remember him. And he certainly seemed to remember the reason Theo had left in the first place.

“Are you crying into your diary about how you killed your sister.”

And damn the bastard to hell, that was not how it had happened, and the bastard knew it. Stilinski’s father had even been the one to investigate the crash and had ruled it to be an accident. But of course, Stilinski wouldn’t listen to him, would he.

“We all know you’re going to turn tail and run before the semester ends, Raeken” Stilinski was saying. Theo didn’t know how the conversation had gotten to this. He must have zoned out for a moment. Though it was a common thing he did when Stilinski was around. “Well, it’s about time a get going Raeken. My friends are expecting me after all. You do know what that’s like, don’t you Raeken? What it’s like to have friends?”

He clapped Theo on the shoulder before he walked off, silently laughing to himself. Theo merely groaned, placing his headphones back on and restarting the song he was one. He reopened the leather journal, continuing to write where he had left off. As the song started up and the first verse started, he mouthed along to the words, a fitting song for the thoughts floating in his head

_Save your soul still wanting more_   
_From this glittering life’s store_   
_There is something in your mind_   
_Telling you that it’s no crime_   
_As long as we go to confession_

_WE ARE MURDERERS_   
_WE Are, We are, We all_

~~~~~~~~~~~

_The mists covered the city like a shroud, the cold and wet of it all forcing people indoors for the night. It was thick, thicker than usual, but it was the perfect cover for a heist._

_Tara sprinted across the steeped roofs of the buildings, following her instincts as she ran. She could see barely a foot in front of her, but she didn’t need to see. Not really._

_She closed her eyes as she sprinted, sending out a pulse, seeing ahead in her mind where the building suddenly ended. She pushed herself harder, surging forward, and at the last moment leapt into the air, soaring through the empty expanse of the street. She flipped through the air, landing lightly on a window sill, before leaping again, this time straight up, straight to the top of the towering keep. Straight to where the Lord’s study would be. Right where the Lord’s safe would be._

~~~~~~~~~~~

Yet another day at school, yet another encounter with Stilinski, yet more self-imposed isolation. After a month of being at Beacon Hills High, Theo would have thought he would be used to it by now. But there was something about watching everyone, people he remembered being friends with when he was younger, ignoring him as if he didn’t exist. As if he really were the new guy at school.

He sighed, the music coming through his head phones a steadying comfort for him. If there was one thing he could trust, it was his music and how it helped ground him, steadying his thoughts. He breezed through the halls of the school, heading for his next class, one that he knew well. One he enjoyed beyond what would be considered normal.

The English class wasn’t a large one. No more than fifteen students head picked the elective, but they were all students who were eager to learn. As Theo had found out quite early on, not many people appreciated creative writing, even more so when you base your main character off of a real-life person.

He sat down in his usual seat at the back of class, pulling out the necessary book he required for the subject. The teacher, Miss Marcolin, walked in as the bell rang, calling everyone to attention. It wasn’t long until she had everyone writing down notes from the board, before getting everyone to work silently on their individual writing projects. Theo was a couple of lines into his writing when the door slammed open.

He instinctively looked up from what he was doing, and really wished he hadn’t. Framed in the door way was the star Lacrosse captain, wearing the bright yellow varsity jacket the lacrosse players all wore. His broad shoulders filled out the jacket, and Theo had to forcibly tear his eyes away from the boy’s shoulders before he was caught staring.

Of course, it didn’t help that he then looked towards the boy’s face. Bright blue eyes framed by long, light brown hair, small nose and plump, pouty lips were almost to die for.

Theo knew he should have pummelled the crush he had on the boy into submission the moment it had flared to life, but for once he couldn’t help it. He knew he was already smitten with the boy, and he hadn’t even said a word to Theo since he had started at school a month ago.

“Mister Dunbar, what is the meaning of this?” Miss Marcolin asked, standing from where she had been helping another student.

The Lacrosse captain merely pulled a slip of paper from the pocket of his jacket, passing it over to her. She eyed the document speculatively before she nodded, placing it on her desk.

“It seems everything is in order” she said, staring down he nose at the boy. She looked around the room, before eyeing the empty seat next to Theo. “Take a seat next to Mister Raeken. I’m sure he can give you a brief run down of what is required of you here.”

“Yes Ma’am” Dunbar said in reply, before marching over to the empty seat next to Theo.

Theo already knew he was doomed the moment the boy had entered the room. As Dunbar sat next to him, a fitting verse popped into his head.

_When our destinies collide_   
_Our intrinsic values cry out for action_   
_Only emptiness remains_   
_If we can’t get rid of our frustrations_   
_Judging someone tells you who you are_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is from Liam's point of view. Hope you all like it.

_Wake from you secret slumber here comes the tide_

_There will be no salvation all is a lie_

_Find that the world has fooled you and left you torn_

_When the walls came down heartache was born_

-When the Walls Came Down (Heartache was Born), Xandria, Theatre of Dimensions

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

Liam was… well Liam was slightly terrified. It wasn’t often that he felt like this, but this was one of those times. The only other time he had felt like this had been after he had smashed up coach’s car at Devenford, but this wasn’t like that. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Had he?

 

He opened the door to the classroom, maybe a tad too forceful as it slammed against the wall. Christ, he really must be terrified. The slip of paper in his jacket pocket felt like a lead weight dragging him down, but instead he hitched the strap of his bag further up his shoulder before walking in.

 

Of course, the teacher wasn’t too happy with him coming into her class late, but she was easily placated by the slip of paper he pulled out of his pocket. A class transfer document. Not commonly used, but she accepted it all the same.

 

“Take a seat next to Mister Raeken. I’m sure he can give you a brief rundown of what is required of you here” Miss Marcolin said, pointing to a boy sitting at the back of the class, isolated from the rest of the class.

 

He merely replied with a half hearted “Yes Ma’am” before practically marching towards the boy she had pointed to. He thought it was odd, that she him to someone who seemed to be uncaring about the class he was in. He had his headphones in as he wrote, though he had paused for a moment when Liam had first entered the class. He had a hoody on, a dark maroon that made what skin was visible even paler than it was, with the hood up. His eyes, inquisitive, intelligent, creative, bright green eyes, were hidden behind a pair of thin glasses that were pushed up his nose. As Liam sat, he closed the book he had been writing in, as if hiding its contents from his own inquisitive gaze.

 

He stuck his hand out to the boy, a smile on his face as he introduced himself. “Names Liam. Nice to meet you today.”

 

Raeken seemed frozen in his seat for a moment before he turned to face Liam, grasping his hand in a shake. He had a firm grip, a firmer grip than Liam had been expecting the boy to have. “I’m Theo” was all he said, as he slipped his book back into his bag at his feet. Liam cocked his head to the side, opening his mouth as if to ask a question, but stopped himself. It wasn’t his place to ask, and the boy seemed shy enough as it is. He didn’t want to scare him off.

 

Theo pulled his head phones out, pausing the music as he did so, before stuffing the phone and cords into the pocket of his hoody. He pulled another book towards him, a standard ring bound notebook that he must use for class. Liam really wanted to ask what was in the leather journal, but bit his tongue, stopping himself instead.

 

Theo flicked to a page in the notebook, finding what he needed as Liam pulled out his own book and pens to begin writing.

 

“Since I am genuinely curious, why are you in this class?” Theo said suddenly, causing Liam to jump slightly in his seat. He hadn’t been expecting Theo to speak, despite the teacher’s instructions. “You don’t exactly come across as the type of person to willingly do AP Creative Writing?” He then turned away, muttering “You don’t exactly look like the type to do AP _anything_ for that matter.”

 

Liam felt a spike of anger shoot through him as Theo said it, but pushed it to the side to worry about later. He didn’t _want_ to scare the new kid, after all.

 

“I was kicked out of my AP Psychology class, and this was the only available subject running at the same time” Liam said, shoulders wilting slightly as he did. It hadn’t been _his_ fault Miss Vanderkraan had been wrong about how IED worked. He hadn’t meant to get into an argument over the topic. He stopped those trains of thought before they could go any further, knowing where they would lead. “So yeah, here I am.”

 

“So you do have AP subjects then?” Theo asked, perking up slightly in interest.

 

“Well I’m obviously not in AP Psych any more, but now I’m here. I’m also in AP World History. And AP Economics with coach” Liam said in reply, a smile on his face at the slightly dumfounded look on Theo’s. “Yeah, I know. I’m a lot more than just the captain of the Lacrosse team Theo.”

 

Theo nodded slightly, thinking things over, before he turned to back to his notes, seemingly having accepted what Liam had said. “So, for the assignment we have for the semester, you have to answer one of these questions creatively.” Theo turned back to Liam, turning his book to him and sliding it over so Liam could read the page. “You have to take it in stages. The first stage is to pick your question. You can’t go any-where from here without it. You have to make sure you really want to do the question you pick, too. No pulling out half way through when you decide you’ve had enough.”

 

Liam snorted at the end of Theo’s speech, unable to keep his mind out of the gutter at Theo’s words. The boy simply levelled a glare his way, one that froze Liam in his place. All traces of the excited boy from moments before had gone, no traces of emotion left on his face. He was suddenly reserved and cold towards him.

 

“If you think this is funny, I’d rather not worry about helping you” Theo said, voice flat. “If you actually want help, pick your mind out of the gutter and get a grip. You may not take this seriously, but I do, and I actually want to pass. So, if you don’t, go bother someone else.”

 

He began pulling his notes back to him, receding in on himself as he did so. Liam scrambled for a response, before blurting out “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Please, you seem to know what you’re doing. I could really use your help.”

 

Theo paused, still as a statue, contemplating what Liam had said. His eyes flickered around the class room, noticing how everyone else required the help of the teacher, before sighing in acceptance, visibly deflating before Liam’s eyes.

 

“Fine” Theo finally said, returning the book in front of him to Liam. “But get your mind out of the gutter. I actually want to get some work done today before class is finished, okay?”

 

Liam simply nodded, listening intently as Theo went over the questions he would need to choose from. This would be a lot more difficult than he had thought it would be, but for now, he figured he would be fine.

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_The climb up the outside of the keep wasn’t a difficult one, leaping from one window ledge to another. Her cloak flapped in the breeze around her, obscuring her figure. Not that she needed it. The mists were that thick they obscured even her vision of all the surrounding buildings._

_Finally, Tara reached the top of the keep, a flat roof with skylights set in, to let in the red sunlight during the day. She sent out a pulse, closing her eyes, as suddenly eight figures appeared behind her eyelids, each one a red form lacking detail. Another pulse showed her their weapons, appearing in bright orange at their hips or over their shoulders. A third and final pulse told her that each figure held a torch in their hands, in an effort to see through the mists. Good. Their eye’s wouldn’t be accustomed to the darkness._

_Eyes still closed, Tara pulled a pair of twin daggers out of their sheathes, before flowing forward. Her eyes closed tight against the mists, she no longer risked losing her night vision to the guards torches. She smiled as she reached the first guard, flowing behind him and slitting his throat, the sound of weapons hitting the ground alerting the other guard’s._

This was going to be easy, _she thought as she spun, flinging one of the daggers at another guard._

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

Liam’s AP Psychology class had been his last subject of the day, right before he had Lacrosse training. Of course, now it was his AP Creative Writing class, but either way, he was expected to be at the training afterwards. Of course, he may have been a little late, as he was caught up talking with Theo about the assignment. And other things.

 

The locker room was near empty when he arrived, and he hurriedly changed into his lacrosse uniform. Turning around, he was shocked to find Stiles leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting for him. A quick look around the room told Liam all he needed to know. He and Stiles were the only ones in the room.

 

“Hey Stiles” Liam said, picking up his lacrosse stick and helmet. “Scott must be outside. He wasn’t here when I got in.”

 

“Oh I know” Stiles said with a nod of his head, pushing himself off of the wall and walking towards Liam. He was about an inch or two taller than Liam, causing the shorter boy to look upwards at Stiles. “I wanted to talk to you was all. I noticed you were talking to the new kid, Theo Raeken.”

 

Liam took a step back, slightly worried at what Stiles wanted now. The taller boy had a predatory look on his face, one that didn’t promise anything good. “What do you care? You’ve never worried about who I’ve been friends with in the past.”

 

“I’m quite aware of that” Stiles said, examining his nails as if he were bored. “I just thought you should know to be wary around Raeken is all. He can be quite… dangerous after all.”

 

“Dangerous? What do you mean?” Liam asked.

 

“What I mean is that he killed his whole family, Liam” Stiles said, still examining his nails. He said it as if he were simply describing the weather. “He killed his whole family and he walked away scot free. He even admitted to doing it too. Just thought you should know, before you start getting all chummy with the likes of him.”

 

Once he was finished, Stiles spun on his heel, walking back outside through the door, not bothering to look back at Liam’s shocked expression. Liam certainly didn’t know what to think about what Stiles had said. The only thought running through his brain, on a constant loop, was the words “Please be a lie, please be a lie, please be a lie.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one, guys. It literally doubles the current word count. This ones jumps from one POV to the next. A couple more Tara snippets too, for those of you who like it. More music inspirations too, though each set of song lyrics has the title, band and album listed underneath, for those of you who are interested. Hope you like it.

_Oh mother please come save me from this emptiness!_

_Lead me away!_

_Oh mother please come save me from this emptiness!_

_Save me now from the dark night of the soul_

-Dark night of the soul, Xandria, Theatre of Dimensions

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

Another day, another series of problems. At least, that’s what Theo thought.

 

He was tired. No scratch that, he was exhausted. No amount of coffee could pull him from the depths of exhaustion he was in, and yet he miraculously made it to school that day without having an accident.

 

The night before had been a fruitless endeavour to find sleep. No matter what Theo did, he still found himself thinking back to his last class, with Liam. How quickly the two of them had hit it off. It was certainly odd for Theo. He normally had stilted conversations with people, giving terse, one-word answers to their questions.

 

But Liam seemed to be an enigma. He certainly seemed to have questions, and lots of them. Theo had found him many times, poised as if to ask a question but having stopped himself before he could ask. Maybe that was why conversation had flowed so freely between the two of them. Liam had wanted to ask questions, questions about Theo, but had stopped himself before asking them, as if knowing that the questions would make him uncomfortable. It made Theo wonder what Liam was hiding himself.

 

It was a long trudge from the car park to his first class, but he finally made it. Coincidentally, it was his AP Creative Writing class again. He checked the time on his phone, finding he was an hour early for his first class of the day. Smiling happily to himself, he pulled his leather journal from his bag and flipped it open to where he had left off the day before, when Liam had shown up.

 

His music blaring, he began to write, falling into a trance almost, the words seemingly tumbling from his mind and onto the page. He wrote, almost as if his life depended on it. As if he were desperate for something to come to an end.

 

He jumped as someone fell into the chair beside him, his hand shooting off to the side, leaving a trail of ink across the page. He slammed the book shut, pulling out his head phones and turning as he did so to glare at whoever it was that thought they could join him.

 

Only to find Liam sitting in the chair next to him, a slight blush on his face. Whether from embarrassment, the cold or something else, Theo couldn’t tell. But a spark in Liam’s eye told him he was curious, and he looked like he wanted to ask something, but again, he held back. Like he didn’t want to scare Theo off.

 

“Morning Theo” Liam said, slightly breathless. Theo now realized the boy was panting, as if he’d run to school. That might have been the cause of the blush then. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You just seemed… like you might want some company before class.” He said that last bit while running a hand through his hair, almost nervously.

 

Theo simply stared at the boy, mouth slightly agape as he did so, wondering _why_ he felt like he wanted Liam’s company. Sure, he had a crush on the boy, but once his secret was out, Liam wouldn’t want a bar of him. Finally, he just nodded his head, muttering out a low “Morning Liam” as he did so.

 

He turned back to the front of the class, watching Liam from the corner of his eye, playing with the cover of his journal as he did so. He quickly checked the time on his phone. They still had a half hour before class. That meant about another twenty minutes by themselves.

 

“Is everything okay, Theo?” Liam asked apprehensively, almost worried about asking. “You look exhausted.”

 

“No shit” Theo snorted in reply. At Liam’s annoyed look, Theo turned back to the boy, smiling a little as he did so. “Sorry, I’m just a little tired is all. Didn’t sleep well last night. Too worried about school, worried about passing my subjects. It’s well, stressful, to say the least.”

 

Liam frowned in thought at Theo’s words, and was silent for a moment. He was no longer panting from exertion, but he still had slight blush coating his cheeks. If anything, it looks like the blush has grown.

 

When he finally thought, it wasn’t what Theo thought he would say. “Have you ever thought about seeing a therapist?”

 

The question freezes Theo to his spot, wondering why Liam had brought it up. But Liam doesn’t seem to have noticed Theo’s discomfort. Or, if he had, he had decided it was better that he said something.

 

“I may not have known you long, but I have seen you around the school, Theo” Liam said, almost quietly. “I don’t know why everyone seems to hate you. Or if not hate you, severely dislike you. But you seem stressed and on edge almost constantly, Theo. You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t get help.”

 

Theo still sat frozen in his seat, but knowing, deep down that Liam was right. Knowing that he needed help, but had put it off for so long. Under Liam’s words, a sudden flood of emotions flooded through him. Anger, Hatred, Self-doubt. Fear, Loathing, Grief. That last one hit home harder than he had thought, and he let out a light gasp, shocked at the wave of emotions. He stiffened slightly at the sudden arm around his shoulder but found comfort and warmth in the embrace. He looked away from Liam, wiping his eyes of the sudden tears that pooled in them, before looking back at the boy.

 

“I wouldn’t know where to go for help though” Theo finally gasped out, not knowing why Liam was being so kind to him. No one was ever this kind to him.

 

Liam fumbled in his pocket, pulling out his wallet and rifling through it’s contents, before pulling out a business card and sliding it to Theo across the table.

 

“Go to him. He does walk in appointments, but prefers it when you call ahead” Liam said, a look of worry and concern sliding over his features. “I got to him all the time because of my IED.” At Theo’s inquisitive look, Liam elaborates. “Intermittent Explosive Disorder. It means I have anger issues. Sometimes, even the littlest thing can send me flying in a rage, where just an hour ago it was just a minor annoyance. I… I need a lot of help for it sometimes, a lot of encouragement to stop me from hurting someone.” He paused for a moment, a look of embarrassment on his face as he opened up to Theo. It’s helpful, having someone to talk to. And it might sound weird, but someone who you don’t know very well is probably better than someone who does.”

 

Theo nodded, hiccupping slightly as he did so, so overwhelmed with emotion that he couldn’t speak. He felt the arm around his shoulders tighten, before Liam stood, pulling Theo up with him.

 

“I think we can afford to skip classes today. You seem like you could do with the help now” Liam said, packing up Theo’s stuff and throwing it into his bag, which he slung over his shoulder. He kept his arm around Theo’s shoulders, however, once he realized that Theo seemed to want the contact between the two of them.

 

It was still another fifteen minutes until class began, and the halls had started filling with students. Theo ignored them, ducking his head as he passed the other students. Liam said nothing, not even to the other students. He simply glared everyone into submission, and they parted like the Red Sea for Moses.

 

The doors opened suddenly, spilling them out to the parking lot, the fresh air hitting Theo like a tonne of bricks, sobering him up slightly. He still refused to move from under Liam’s arm, the weight a comforting presence that kept him stable.

 

As he was piled into the passenger seat of Liam’s car, Theo felt like a weight he had been carrying had suddenly been lifted. He felt lighter, but he knew he had a while to go.

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

 _The next man fell, dagger buried in the mans throat, blood spurting from the open wound as he fell. Tara spun, hand flung out to her side, and the dagger ripped itself out of the dead mans throat, spinning through the air. Without moving from her spot, she spun directing the spinning blade through the air, a quiet_ whum-whum-whum _sound filling the night air._

_Another guard cried out, throat slit open, but the next raised his shield, dagger burying itself in the wood of the shield. No matter how much she pulled on it, the dagger refused to come free. And so, she sprang into action._

_Eye’s still shut, she flew to the red form of the soldier who had blocked the dagger, launching herself into the air. She spun and flipped through the mists, despite the lack of an audience, and landed nimbly on the mans shoulders. Before he could react, she had grasped his skull, and given it a sharp twist._

_A loud crack filled the air, and the man crumpled to the ground, dead. Only four remained._

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_We live in every moment but this one_

_Why don’t we recognize the faces loving us so_

-Last Ride of the Day, Nightwish, Imaginaerum

 

Liam sat in the waiting room at the therapists, finally knowing what his parents must feel whenever he see’s his therapist, James. Worried about what he was going to be told, what new medications he might need, new routines that just might help his IED. But now, Liam was on the other end of the worry.

 

Theo had looked like he had met his breaking point. And if it hadn’t have been Liam who accidently pushed him over the edge, it would have been someone else. And who knows what would have happened.

 

Of course, the conversation he had had with Theo had gone a little out of hand, to say the least. Despite his attempts to hold back questions the day before, something about Stiles’ comments before practice had bugged him. A nagging feeling like he didn’t know the whole story.

 

Of course, that wasn’t surprising. Everyone at school seemed to already know the story of what happened to Theo, and why he was such an outcast. But while Liam was the same age as Theo, he had only been in Beacon Hills for a little over a year. Since the incident with Coach’s car at Devenford.

 

But he couldn’t understand why Stiles would hate Theo so much. He seemed like such a sweet person. He couldn’t imagine even disliking Theo at this point. While he might have been cold towards him, once he had opened up, he had been nothing but friendly towards Liam.

 

He sat playing games on his phone, trying to distract himself from the anxiety pooling in his gut, hoping Theo would be okay. The door to the Doctors office opened, letting out Theo, quickly followed by James.

 

“Now Theo, I want to see you again next week, though preferably without having you skip classes for the day” the therapist said with a smile. “How about four o’clock next Friday, after school. Does that sound okay?”

 

Theo nodded in acceptance, before taking a seat next to Liam. The therapist turned to Liam, smile still on his face. “Everything okay with you Liam? I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks?”

 

“Everything is fine for now, James. Haven’t had any issues with my anger for a while now” Liam said in reply. He was proud that he could say that. It wasn’t often he had long stretched like this, where nothing seemed to go wrong.

 

“That’s good” he said, nodding as he did so. They talked for a couple more minutes, mainly discussing matters of payment for the next few sessions, before Theo thanked the therapist and the two boys left.

 

When they were finally seated in the car, engine on and heaters blasting to rid them of the cold, Liam turned to Theo in his seat, head cocked as he watched the boy.

 

A moment passed before he said “Are you feeling any better?”

 

It was barely a whisper, and he was surprised when Theo replied, having thought the boy hadn’t heard him.

 

“A little. Not much, but” he sighed, almost hunching in on himself. “Can I show you something. James said it might be better if I… if I go there. Especially if I went with some one else, to explain things. Please.”

 

The last bit, the please, practically broke Liam. He felt something inside him break as Theo whispered the word, almost not daring to hope. Liam didn’t need to stop himself this time. The questions didn’t even come.

 

“Of course,” Liam said, earnestly, without the slightest hesitation. “Where do you want us to go?”

 

“Go to the preserve first” Theo said, leaning against the window, watching Liam as he did so. “I’ll direct you from there.”

 

Liam just nodded as he reversed out of the parking lot, doing as his friend asked.

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

_Tara fell to the ground with the corpse of the guard, rolling as she hit the ground. The other four guards seemed hesitant that with her now, knowing that she was something to be feared. A knife in the dark, death on the wind._

_Her cloak billowed around her as she leapt into the air, jumping five, ten, fifteen feet into the air. The pulses she kept throwing out kept her updated as to where the last of the guards were, glowing red and orange behind her closed eyelids. She hung in the air for a moment, assessing the situation, before deciding on a plan._

_Tara flipped in the air, beginning to descend head first to towards the guard furthest away from her. She flipped again, landing feetfirst on the guards chest, her momentum launching him through the air, with her still planted on his chest. The two of them soared through the air like that for a few moments, while she fumbled with something on his belt. She finally managed to pull the sword free from his belt, launching herself from the mans chest. A loud crack resounded across the rooftop as she did so. Tara knew that she had just broken a few of the man’s ribs._

_The momentum of her landing on him, and the added push of her jumping off of him again, sent the poor man flying over the edge of the roof. His screams echoed up to them as he fell, ending suddenly in a loud, wet_ splat _._

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

_For my mistakes, I am to blame_

_Never believed that it was all meant to fall_

_I’d give my life, to have you near once again_

_Take me away, would you forgive me?_

-White Waters, Epica, Design your universe

 

The drive to the preserve was an uneventful one, if quiet. Not that Theo minded. He had steadfastly refused to return to where they were going now. Not because he was afraid. No, he wasn’t afraid of where they were going. He was fucking terrified.

 

He watched Liam as he drove them through town, wondering why the boy had been so helpful to him. He want to scream until his throat was hoarse, wanting to know what Liam wanted, while also wanting to just curl up in a ball and cry, wrapped in Liam’s arms. That last thought shocked him. They weren’t even friends, were they?

 

But everything Liam had done told him it was something friends did, helping each other when they were at there lowest. Everything pointed to Liam thinking of Theo as a friend. Could he really hope they were friends?

 

A warm feeling filled him as he thought about it. Yes, they could be friends. A small part inside of him whispered something else. _What if we could be more than friends?_

 

Before he could think over the thought, the car rolled to a stop, just outside of the preserve. The engine was cut off, the heater dying with the engine, the cold from outside quickly replacing the heat.

 

“So” Liam said hesitantly. “Where do we go from here?”

 

Theo didn’t speak, not having the energy to do so right now. Instead, he opened the door of the car, stepping out into the cold, autumn air. His breath misted around him, and he smiled slightly when he heard Liam exit the car, trusting him enough just to follow.

 

Steeling himself, Theo slowly made his way through the preserve, Liam following close behind. It didn’t take long, as they followed a small trail through the trees, before they came across what looked to be a long, dirt drive. The turned right, making their way down the drive.

 

“Are you sure we’re meant to be going to some stranger’s place?” Liam finally asked, voice filling the quiet air.

 

Theo barely stopped walking, just continued on until they came across a broken, dilapidated wooden bridge stretching over a wide stream.

 

“No one uses this drive anymore” Theo finally said, coming to a stop as he did so. He tried to speak, say something else, but it was suddenly too much. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t get the words out. He couldn’t… he couldn’t…

 

Arms wrapped around him from behind, grounding him suddenly, clearing his mind. He swallowed thickly, thankful that Liam didn’t say anything, giving him all the time he needed. He cleared his throat one more time, before speaking.

 

“This is where I killed my sister” Theo said softly, quietly. Liam stiffened behind him, but still kept his arms wrapped around him. Theo continued, voice thick with guilt. “This is where I killed my whole family.”

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

 _Sword in hand, Tara launched herself across the roof, soaring through the air. She distantly heard the wet_ splat _of the soldier that fell over the side of the building. She ignored it though, soaring through the air sword point first. The guard managed to dodge the sword tip, but she spun in the air, blade spinning in the air around her._

_The guards head was shorn from his shoulders, falling to the ground with thump, body falling moments after._

_Another guard charged her, sword swinging wildly through the mists. She parried the blade, the sound of steel ringing against steel shattering what little silence was left in the night. The guard was too heavy, too strong, and soon her parry’s were getting sloppy, the guard getting more and more dangerous as time flew by. Gritting her teeth, she dropped the sword and dropped to the ground, the guards wild swing sending him tumbling to the side. She shot back to her feet, dagger in hand, before she buried the blade in the base of his skull._

_Two more were left._

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

Liam stiffened, not believing what he was hearing. The words from the night before, Stiles’ words, rocketed through his head.

 

 _He killed his whole family and walked away scot free_ Stiles had said.

 

Liam had hoped, beyond hope, that Stiles had been wrong. But even with Stiles’ words being confirmed by Theo himself, Liam couldn’t seem to find the energy to move away from Theo, couldn’t find the energy to run. He refused to believe what Theo was saying, refused to believe that the quiet, shy new guy could find the malice and hatred to kill his whole family.

 

Theo had stopped, breath ragged and misty in the cold. Whether he had noticed Liam’s reaction to the admission or not, Liam couldn’t tell. But before he could speak, Theo pulled in another ragged breath, before speaking again.

 

“At least, that’s what I tell myself.”

 

He stepped out of Liam’s embrace, moving towards he bridge, plopping himself down on the edge, feet dangling over the broken wooden palings.

 

Liam moved towards him, sitting down next to Theo, but hesitant to touch him in any way. He still didn’t want to scare Theo off, so he simply rested his hands in his lap, waiting for Theo to keep talking.

 

“I was at a sleep over that night” Theo said, hands in his lap, fingers twitching as he talked. “They’d expected there to be some rain that night but hadn’t expected the utter downpour that we got. I was terrified, so I did what any ten-year-old would do. I called my parents to come and get me. They brought my sister Tara along with them, since she wasn’t old enough to stay at home by herself. On the way home, the rain just got heavier and heavier, the roads were slippery as all hell. My parents were arguing in the front. This stream here had flooded, and… it must have weakened the supports. We were crossing the bridge, then suddenly we were in the stream, the car quickly filling with water. If it hadn’t of been for Tara, I wouldn’t be here today.”

 

Liam felt a sudden urge to wrap Theo in a hug, and that was what he did. He was angry at himself, angry for believing a word of what Stiles had said for even a moment, but he suppressed the rage as best he could, knowing that it wasn’t going to help Theo in the slightest. Instead, he simply pulled Theo over, resting his head on his chest, letting the boy know that he was here for him.

 

Looking down at Theo, Liam had a sudden thought. He wanted to protect Theo, wanted to protect him from people like Stiles, people who wanted to do nothing but harm to him. Theo was hurt enough already, and Liam just wanted to protect him from it all. He leaned forward, planting a soft kiss to Theo’s hair, hoping the boy would get better with his help.


	4. Chapter 4

_Wish I could prove I love you_

_But does that mean I have to walk on water?_

_When we are older you’ll understand_

_It’s enough when I say so_

_And maybe some things are that simple_

-Simple and Clean, Utada Hikaru

 

***

Liam took Theo home to his place after that. Theo was too exhausted to bother where they went and was too tired to drive his truck someplace quiet, so he could sleep. It was days like these where he hated that he lived out of his truck. Days where he was too tired to drive, and too exhausted to even bother.

 

But Liam had promised him somewhere warm and comfortable, at least for the night. The promise of a bed and a warm shower were too enticing, and so he simply let the shorter boy drag him back to his car.

 

He still wondered why Liam was being so nice. It made him wary, despite how kind Liam had been. And why had he kissed his head earlier? Theo didn’t know why, but he thought Liam had done it thinking he wouldn’t notice. Maybe it had been an unconscious gesture, one that didn’t have any underlying meaning?

 

But then suddenly they were pulling up the drive of a large house, the dark blue paint covering its façade pale due to age. But it looked large, homely, inviting, as if calling to Theo, pulling him inwards. And so, when Liam helped him out of the car, his arm back around his shoulder, he let Liam pull him along, enjoying the warmth of being so close to the boy.

 

They made their way through the house, Liam pointing out where everything was for Theo’s benefit, before they made their way up the stairs, and into Liam’s room.

 

It was a large room, with a large king-sized bed in the centre. Theo’s eyes wandered over the room, taking in everything. Heavy, wooden bookcases lined the walls, filled to bursting with books covering every subject, from history to psychology, biology to physics. Theo noticed that two whole bookcases were filled entirely by a sizable collection of science fiction and fantasy novels, filled with the greats that Theo recognized, like Asimov and Verne, Rowling and Pratchett, to others he didn’t recognize, like Heinlein and Le Guin.

 

A large TV was set against the wall, opposite the bed, with numerous games consoles sitting on a dresser beneath it, cords snaking their way up to the TV, while a guitar sat in a stand in the corner next to a door, leading to what Theo assumed was a wardrobe.

 

“Come on, I’ll get you a change of clothes for you, and then you can have a shower, how about that?” Liam asked, voice cheerful and a smile on his face. “While you’re showering I’ll make us something warm to eat before you get some sleep, okay?”

 

Theo couldn’t speak, couldn’t get the words to form in his throat, so instead he simply nodded, and that seemed to be all Liam was waiting on. He flew into a frenzy, pulling out clothes of all sorts, sizes and colours, deeming many to be too small for Theo’s large frame, before finally coming to rest on a pair of sweat pants and a large, white t-shirt. He handed these to Theo, along with a pair of brand new, still in the plastic underwear, along with some large fluffy socks.

 

At his inquisitive look towards the underwear, Liam said “Mason used to sleep over a lot up until a few months ago, and he always forgot his underwear whenever he came over. So, I just got into the habit of having a few new pairs for him whenever he came over.”

 

He shrugged his shoulders as he finished, flashing a smile to Theo at the end, which Theo tentatively returned. Liam simply beamed wider, if that were even possible, before he nodded at the door in the corner of his room. “That door leads to my bathroom. You can use whatever you need while your in there.”

 

With another smile Theo’s way, Liam backed out of the door, slowly pulling the door shut before it closed with a soft _click_. He stayed sitting on the edge of Liam’s bed for a moment longer, before he stood, clothes in his arms, and made his way to the bathroom.

 

It was a larger bathroom than Theo had expected for a walk in bathroom, but considering the size of Liam’s bedroom, it wasn’t as much of a shock. The small, tiled room consisted of a countertop with an inset sink, a toilet and a shower.

 

Theo quickly shucked off his clothes, pulling off his hoody, and then the long sleeved shirt he wore underneath, revealing the myriad of tattoo’s inked into his skin. He ignored them, like he did most days, continuing to pull off his jeans and underwear, revealing more snaking, spiralling twirls of black ink down his thighs and calves. He again ignored them all, the only concern on his mind the hot shower he was soon going to be having.

 

The water heated up quickly once it was flowing, and the room quickly filled with steam as he stepped in, relishing the warmth that cascaded down his back, loosening his muscles and washing away the ache deep in his bones.

 

He stayed under the water for god knows how long, enjoying the warmth and the water as it cascaded down his body. The room was quickly filling with steam, fogging up the mirror and filling his lungs.

 

He soon picked up the bar of soap resting on a shelf, before he began to scrub his skin, washing away a few days-worth of dirt and grime, relishing the feel of being clean again. He dipped his hand down to his crotch, his cock hard and leaking between his legs as he washed himself, before he grasped himself with a soapy hand.

 

It didn’t take long for him to reach orgasm, a few quick strokes and a rub of a finger across the head of his dick was all it took before he was coating the tiled wall in his cum. If he happened to moan out a certain messy haired brunette’s name while he did, well, no one needed to know.

 

He washed off his cum now staining the wall, before he soaped up his hair, and then washing it out. Once he was done, he shut off the water, stepped out and towelled himself dry, enjoying the feel of the soft material against his skin as he did so. He then put on the clothes Liam had picked out for him. They fit surprisingly well, except for the shirt, which fit snug to his body. His only worry was the tattoo’s that snaked down his arms and that were visible through the thin material of the shirt.

He sighed, not bothering to worry about it, before he made his way out of Liam’s room and down the stairs.

 

***

_The last two guards seemed unfazed by Tara’s slaughter of the other six men. They seemed… resolute in their postures, having not once moved from their positions. It was odd. It wasn’t like they hadn’t heard the racket. Tara was rather surprised to find that no more guards had appeared before now._

_If anything, that thought made her even more wary of the two guards left._

_Her eyes still closed against the mists, she sent out another pulse, measuring them up, trying to discern what they were going to do. The stones of the keep’s roof flared a dull blue, while the guards weapons flared their usual orange. But the red of the guards, the red of the living, was dull. Duller than it should be._

Why didn’t I notice that before _Tara thought, sending another pulse towards the guards, trying to pierce through the mists._

_Suddenly, one of them moved, quicker than she had expected. But it wasn’t the speed of a Mist Walker. No, this was the lumbering gait of something else. Something not entirely human._

_Her momentary lapse in concentration was all it took for the creature to be upon her, her eyes snapping open in shock. The colours of her pulses still floated across her eyes for a moment, and suddenly the red disappeared. She could see skin stretched across the craggy, bumpy surface of stone, the creature wearing the skin of another human as if it were clothes._

_It smiled, and the skin covering it’s face contorted nightmarishly, sending chills down her spine._

_She didn’t know how she would survive against a Kronan._

 

***

_So hard to face the pace of the clock_

_What do you think; will it ever stop?_

_So will I fall and not get up?_

_I take it all in stride_

-Dance of Fate, Epica, Consign to Oblivion

 

Liam heard the water running in the shower when he was only halfway down the stairs, while pulling his shoulder length hair up into a man bun. He smiled as he continued down and made his way into the kitchen. He pulled out a wooden chopping board and a knife, before browsing through the contents of the fridge. The contents of the crisper were meagre, being a stalk of celery and two onions, but that was about it. He pulled those out, getting them ready to cut up, before returning to the fridge for meat.

 

He found what he was looking for, a wrapped package of chicken thigh that he had bought the day before after Lacrosse practice. While he may not have planned on skipping school for the day, it was Friday after all, and it was his day to cook for his parents. He was just glad he had bought a little more than usual the night before.

 

He quickly fell into a trance as he cut everything up, dicing the celery and onions into small cubes, before scrapping them into a bowl. He then pulled out a large pot, filling it with water and putting it on the burner to boil.

 

While the water was boiling, he filleted the chicken, before cutting it into thin strips, again scrapping it into a bowl. He then poured in premade chicken stock into the water, mixing it through the now boiling water, before adding the cut-up ingredients. While the chicken slowly cooked in the soup broth, Liam made his way outside to the small herb garden his mum and him maintained on their window sill, plucking leaves of basil, stalks of rosemary, stalks of parsley and a small handful of chives, before making his way back inside, washing the herbs and then mixing them into the soup after he cut them up.

 

Once everything had been mixed in and the chicken in it was cooked through, Liam put a lid on the pot and turned the burner down to the lowest setting, keeping it over the heat so that the flavours would mix together correctly. He then made his way into the living room, rubbing his hands up and down his arms at the chill pervading the air of the house. He needed to sort that out soon, or Theo would be freezing after his shower.

 

He turned to the hearth set into the wall to the side of the living room. It was a big, stone monstrosity, and Jenna had always talked about modernising to have something that looked more industrial, but Liam like it. It gave a rustic feel to the home, and the heat it gave off during the winter was perfect. Besides, it also acted as the perfect oven for homemade bread.

 

He realized that they had no wood stored inside, and he sighed, knowing he was going to, more than likely, have to cut up the kindling. At least Theo would know where to go if he needed him for anything.

 

He made his way outside, through the garage and to the pile of logs they had set up along the side of the house. He pulled the axe out of a nearby stump, before picking up a log and placing it on the now vacant stump. When he had the log in the right position, he raised the axe over his head, and swung down.

 

The axe cleaved the log in two, before burying itself in the stump. He heaved against the axe, pulling it free of the wood, before positiong the two halves of the log and swinging again.

 

He quickly fell into a rhythm, his muscles burning from the exertion. He was sweating underneath his Lacrosse jacket, so he pulled it off, and his soaked shirt underneath. He shivered as a gust of cold wind blew against his now bare torso, before he positioned another log on the stump, and swung the axe.

 

The sound of someone spluttering by the doorway drew his attention mid swing, and he missed the log, burying the head of the axe into the stump. He attempted to pull it out, but the thing wouldn’t budge. Ignoring the axe for the moment, he turned to find Theo standing in the doorway, eyes glued to Liam’s bare torso.

 

And Liam couldn’t help but to stare at Theo. The shirt hadn’t been as big as he had originally thought, and so it clung to Theo like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination as his eyes raked up and down the older boy’s torso. The sweats he had given Theo were a little too long, and the bottoms covered his feet, making him look soft and comfortable. Theo was also a lot more muscular than Liam had originally thought, seeing as he had only seen Theo in oversized hoodies and he didn’t play sport, so he had just assumed Theo had been skinny. But boy had he been wrong.

 

And he had _tattoo’s_. Not that Liam thought any less of Theo because of them. But what he could see, trails of words wrapping like vines down Theo’s arms made Liam drool slightly.

 

He suddenly realized he had a kink for muscular guys with tattoo’s.

 

Theo managed to regain his senses first, clearing his throat and looking away from Liam for a moment. “Is there any reason you’re outside shirtless Liam? It’s too bloody cold outside.”

 

Liam noticed that Theo had a blush on his cheeks as he said that, but he had a feeling it wasn’t from the cold. And suddenly, the warmth of his exertion having passed, he shivered in the cold air, hands coming up to rub some warmth into his arms. “You’re right, it is cold.” He shivered again, before scooping up as much wood as he could, and turning back to Theo. “Come on, start a fire.”

 

Theo looked at him quizzically, wondering what Liam meant. Liam simply sighed, before he said “We don’t have central heating. House is too old and we haven’t had the money to modernize the place. So we heat the place up with the fireplaces scattered through the house.” He raised his arms with the kindling still held in them. “We didn’t have any kindling, so I had to cut it up. Now move aside, I don’t want to freeze out here.”

 

Theo did as he said, laughing as he did so. “You wouldn’t freeze out there if you were still wearing your jacket you know?”

 

“Liam huffed out a laugh of his own, feeling Theo’s eyes as they explored his muscular back. “You try telling me that when you’ve been cutting up wood for…” he trailed off for a moment, turning to the clock. “Twenty minutes. Wow.” He turned to Theo, the boy’s eyes snapping up to Liam’s as they came to a stop in the hall. “You took your time in the shower, didn’t you? I got lunch started and everything while you were in there.”

 

Theo seemed flustered as he tried to explain himself, but Liam just laughed as he turned back around, walking into the lounge and dumping the wood in his arms beside the hearth. As he began piling old news papers and wood in the centre, he quietly said “I don’t blame you, Theo. I would probably do the same if I were in your position.”

 

He heard Theo stumble, spluttering a bit before he said, “What do you mean, if you were in my position?” He seemed angry, but also resigned, as if he knew this was coming.

 

Liam lit a match, moving to light the old papers, and stared at the flames as they quickly grew, the flames catching on the dry wood. “I know you live out of your truck Theo” Liam said, not turning from where he sat, still shirtless, as he continued to stare into the flames. “I know you probably haven’t had a proper shower in weeks, and I don’t want to know how long it’s been since you last slept in an actual bed. But I want you to know, if you want a place to stay, the door is always open.”

 

***

_The Kronan swung its fist at her, but she dodged it, leaping into the air and flipping over it’s head. She sprinted to where a dull orange glowed to her right, the glow fading with every passing second. But she got to it moments before the glow faded, finding the sword she had dropped killing the previous guard._

_The Kronan lumbered her way and she leaped again, avoiding its fist again. A roar split the night as the second Kronan sprang into action, leaping through the air towards her. She adjusted her angle, pushing beneath her so she could gain more height. She just cleared the Kronan, before she twisted her body into a tight ball, the blade of the sword extending out of the ball of twisted limbs._

_She did this in less then a second, before she pushed behind her again, causing her balled up body to spin, sword blade spinning in a deadly arc as it smashed into the Kronan’s back._

_And shattered with an ear-splitting crack._

_The force of her push and the sudden jolt to her movement sent her flying, smashing into the roof of the keep as her body sprawled out wards, limbs spread out as she wheezed and gasped for breath._

_Both Kronans lumbered over to her, looming over her sprawled out body as she wondered whether she was going to live till morning._

***

_I always said, “My love, do the noble thing…”_

_You have to finish what you started, no matter what,_

_Now, sit, watch and learn_

-Don’t say a word, Xandria, Fire & Ashes

 

Theo sat on the couch, staring at Liam’s bare back, wondering what he was going to say. He couldn’t deny it, that he lived out of his truck. And something inside him told him that even if he could, he wouldn’t want to lie. Not to Liam, who had done so much for him already.

 

So all he said was, “But what will your parents say? They wouldn’t be happy that their only son brought in a stray off of the streets now, would they?”

 

Liam laughed at that, turning away from the fire to look Theo in the eyes, and _wow_ , everything about Liam was distracting. The bare muscles of his torso, to the light scruff of a beard he had growing, to his hair all pulled back into a man bun. He shivered at the intensity in Liam’s eyes, wondering what Liam was trying to get at just by staring at him.

 

Liam sighed, before he completely turned to face Theo, legs crossed beneath him and still sitting on the ground. “You wouldn’t be the first ‘stray’” Liam said, making air quotes around the last word “that has stayed here. My dad… well, my step dad, he works in the Emergency room in the hospital. Every now and again he’s come home from work with a kid who has suddenly been orphaned and has nowhere to go. Some day’s they’re only here for the night while the authorities locate and contact any living relatives, other time’s they’re here for weeks, other times months, before they’re adopted. Or they come of age.”

 

Theo sat dumbfounded, staring at Liam after his little speech. But something nagged at the back of his head. “If you’re parents were having kids stay here because they were fostering them, why didn’t they adopt any of them?”

 

Liam’s smile grew bitter at the question. “In some cases, it was because it didn’t work out. Whoever it was that stayed here just couldn’t stand being parented by someone who wasn’t their parents, or just didn’t want to be here. They were the one’s who only stayed for a few weeks. Everyone else, _well_ , let’s just say my parents weren’t exactly happy with that.”

 

“How so?” Theo asked. The fire was roaring behind Liam, casting shadows across his body that made Theo want to lick his lips at the sight. He did but was glad that Liam wasn’t looking at him in that moment.

 

“My parents wanted to adopt another kid. They wanted to help someone, get them out of foster care and give them a better future. But every time they applied for adoption, they were knocked back. At first, it was because they weren’t married at the time, just living together. But then the excuses kept getting more and more ridiculous, so they just gave up. They still kept on fostering kids, but they gave up hope of every adopting someone.”

 

Liam suddenly stood, stretching his back, the sounds of his joints popping mixing with the sound of the crackling fire behind him. “Come on” Liam said, motioning with his head as a few strands of loose hair fell into his eyes. He brushed them away before holding his hand out to Theo, which Theo took, before he was pulled to his feet. “There’s one last thing I want to do before we can eat.”

 

Theo wrinkled his nose at the smell of sweat coming off of Liam, and he waved his hand out in front of him. “I hope that includes having a shower, cause you stink.”

 

Liam laughed, smiling back at Theo as he did so. “I will, soon. Come on. I’ll get you to help me, okay?”

 

Theo just nodded as he followed Liam. If helping Liam meant he could stare at this gorgeous boy for even longer, he would do anything.

 

And that’s when he realized he really was smitten for Liam.

 

They made their way back into the kitchen, Liam still holding Theo’s hand until he went into the pantry, pulling out flower and salt, placing them on the kitchen counter, before turning to the fridge and pulling out butter, which he placed next to the flour. He pulled a measuring jug out of the cupboard, which he used to measure out some water from the tap. He placed that next to everything else while Theo sat on the barstools opposite Liam’s work space.

 

Liam rummaged around through the cupboard for a few more moments, before he pulled back, a large wooden mixing bowl in his hands a he shouted inn triumph. He placed that in front of Theo and the various ingredients, before he motioned with his head. “We need to wash our hands first. I’ll get it started, and you can finish it while I’m in the shower. Deal?”

 

Theo nodded hesitantly, before standing from the seat and making his way to the sink, lathering his hands and forearms up with soap as he waited for the water to warm up. He noticed Liam watching him, staring at the various tattoos on his arms. Theo followed Liam’s gaze, finding which one he was looking at.

 

“You want to know what it is, yes?” Theo asked, nodding to his fore arm. Liam blushed, the red easily flowing down his neck and spreading across his chest. But he nodded, letting Theo do the talking as he washed off the soap, and turned his arm so Liam could get a proper look.

 

There on his forearm, in large, flowing script were a few words and two dates.

 

_Tara Raeken_

_1998-2010_

_I give all of myself for all I love in this world_

_It will be my last wish, my ultimate sacrifice_.

 

Liam stared at the words in silence, before his eyes glanced up to Theo’s. He had tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, and while he looked sad, he had questions floating through those beautiful blue orbs.

 

“It was my first tattoo” Theo said quietly, leaning on his arms against the counter top. “On my eighteenth, I went to the tattoo parlour closest to where I was living at the time and got them to ink this on.” He rubbed his hand over the dark ink, eyes glued to the words. “It’s what I got put on Tara’s grave stone. I don’t remember where I had heard the words before, but it seemed fitting. Rather than save herself in the accident, she decided to save me. And this was how I thought I should honour her. And this way I carry her with me wherever I go.”

 

And suddenly he was crying, tears falling down his cheeks as he thought about Tara again. He didn’t normally, not while he was outside of his own little world. But here he was, standing in his only friend’s kitchen, bawling his eyes out over his ling dead sister.

 

Liam’s arms were suddenly wrapping around him from behind, a warm cheek pressed to his back, right between his shoulder blades. Liam’s warm breath warmed his skin, even through the shirt, and he smiled despite the tears.

 

“I’m here Theo” was all Liam said, softly, quietly, his voice filled with assurances. And somehow, Theo trusted that Liam would be there when he needed. “I’m going to be here whenever you need me, Theo. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I’m here for you, okay?”

 

Theo nodded, before realizing that Liam couldn’t see him. “Okay” Theo said with a watery smile. “Thank you, Liam. You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met, you know that?”

 

Liam snorted, but Theo could feel the smile on Liam’s face, still pressed against his back. They stood there for a moment more, before Liam pulled away, hand gripped around Theo’s bicep loosely, gently tugging him back towards the barstools.

 

“You know what I think we need?” Liam asked, but ploughed on before Theo could answer. “We need a hot meal.”

 

He pulled out some bowls and a soup ladle, before he made his way over to the stove and pulling the lid off. Steam gushed from pot, filling the air of the kitchen with the delectable scents of warm food. Liam ladled a few spoonsful of soup into each bowl, and then returned to Theo. He pulled out a spoon for each of them, letting Theo taste his concoction first.

 

Theo eyed the soup critically, noticing the enticing smells wafting from the bowl in front of him. He swirled the contents around for a moment, noticing there was small chunks of celery and onion mixed with larger chunks of chicken. He shrugged his shoulders before scooping up a spoonful, one that contained a mix of everything in the soup. He raised the spoon, opening his mouth, watching Liam the whole time, before he closed his eyes and wrapped his lips around the spoon.

 

His tongue burst with the sudden flavour of the soup, and a moan was ripped from him, unable to hold back as he opened his eyes, looking at Liam. He chewed on the chicken before he swallowed what he had in his mouth, before quickly digging back in for more.

 

“I see you like it” Liam said, laughter falling from his mouth as he did so. Theo just nodded before slurping up another spoonful of the delectable substance.

 

All Theo could think of though, was how he wanted Liam to cook for him like this, for the rest of his life.

 

***

Once they had both finished eating their bowls of soup, Liam began making the damper. He explained to Theo as he mixed the ingredients together how it was a simple bread recipe from Australia, used by bush men back when most of the Australian outback had been unexplored by the colonists.

 

“So how do you know all this then?” Theo asked as he watched Liam kneading the dough. “I’m not saying you aren’t intelligent, but most American students aren’t that interested in the rest of the world.”

 

Liam smiled at Theo as he said that as he leaned forward and saying, in an almost conspiratorial whisper “That’s cause I’m not American.”

 

Theo cocked his head to the side, a gesture that Liam had quickly learnt meant _explain, please._

 

Liam leaned back, laughing as he did so, as he said “My parents were both in the military. My mum and my bio dad, I mean. Mum worked as a nurse for the US army, while dad was Major Andrew Dunbar of the Australian Defence Force. They were both on placement on a little island amongst the Solomon Islands called Bougainville when they met. Mum said it was practically love at first sight, but I don’t really believe that. When her tour of duty was up, she left the US army and moved to Australia to be with my dad. And that was where I was born and raised, until I was ten, I think?”

 

Liam left the question to hang in the air, not bothering to remember when he had actually left. “My dad passed away while on tour in Afghanistan, and mum had to pick up another job nursing to make ends meet, even though he hated it after the military. When she was given the chance to move back to California for work, she jumped at the chance, and I was dragged along. Not that I minded. I didn’t have many friends because of my IED, so I was all too willing to tag along. So that’s why I know about damper and Australian history, Theo. I was taught by my dad how to make it and went to school over there enough to know I liked their history. Besides, they’re a lot more honest than they are here.”

 

Liam finished the conversation with a shake of his head, however, before he divided the dough up into equal portions, before wrapping them up in foil. “This is part of why I put the fire on” Liam said, when he noticed Theo’s inquisitive looks. “It’s best cooked over an actual fire, since you have to place it directly into the hot coals. But we wont be cooking them right now. We’ll have them with dinner.”

 

Liam went to place the rolled up dough into the fridge, and when he turned he saw Theo stretching like a cat, a yawn parting his lips as he did so.

 

“Sorry, sorry” Theo said between yawns. “I’m just tired is all.”

 

Liam simply nodded, before holding his hand out to Theo, which he took with out hesitation. “Come on, you can sleep in my bed now while I set up a spare bed for you, okay?”

 

Theo nodded, suddenly too tired to speak as he yawned again. Liam felt as Theo leaned against him, nuzzling into his side for warmth as he nodded to Liam’s question.

 

They finally made it to Liam’s room, Liam almost dragging Theo as they walked through the door. Liam pulled the covers off the bed with one hand, before he gently laid Theo down on the mattress. Theo sighed, relaxing into the warmth as Liam pulled the covers back over him. Liam hadn’t even finished tucking him in before he was snoring quietly, already asleep. Liam chuckled at the sight Theo made before him, before he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to Theo’s forehead.

 

He rushed through his shower, slipping into clothes similar to the ones he had given Theo, before Liam slipped into the bed beside Theo. He, too, was suddenly too tired to do anything. He would talk to his mum when she got home later today, about how he had skipped school and why they were suddenly looking after Liam’s new friend.

 

But it could all wait. Liam wrapped an arm around Theo’s torso, pulling the boy closer towards him, smiling softly as Theo snuggled further into the warmth he provided. And that was how he fell asleep, arm wrapped around Theo, listening to the quiet snores the exhausted boy let out as he had his first good rest in months.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few weeks seemed to fly by for the boys.

 

Once everything had been cleared up with Liam’s parents, Liam’s mum, Jenna had eagerly offered, even downright demanded, that Theo move in with them. That first week was awkward for Theo, as he tried to find his place amongst the small family’s routine. But they soon found a rhythm with Theo there, and Theo appreciated the effort they were going through to have him there.

 

School remained rather the same, though Theo now had a constant companion. He also made a few other friends while he was there, being introduced to Liam’s other friends, Mason, Mason’s boyfriend Corey and another friend of theirs, Hayden. Hayden seemed like a nice girl, though she seemed to have eyes only for Liam and ignored Theo when Liam was around. Which was always, so she never even looked his way. Which was fine by him, since he only had eyes for Liam as well.

 

Of course, not everything was perfect. Stilinski continued to be a thorn in his side, always bothering him when he was alone. Which was now very rarely, but he had started to bother Theo even when he hung out with his friends.

 

And that was a new feeling. He actually had friends, he hung out with them after school, he gossiped with them and talked with them, played video games and studied with them. He went to all of Liam’s games, cheering him on harder than any one else in the crowd, no matter how much the team was losing. It didn’t matter to Theo which team won or lost, he was always happy to see Liam’s smile directed at him after the game, before he was always pulled into a post-match hug.

 

That was another thing that was different between Theo and Liam compared to everyone else Liam was friends with. Theo was the only one he touched, the only one he was intimate with. Theo had a feeling he knew why, for it had been something he noticed. Slight, but still there. Everyone froze or flinched whenever Liam moved to touch them. Even just when he was reaching for something in their vicinity, they did it. It was slight, so slight it was almost unnoticeable, but it was there. And if a newcomer like Theo had picked up on it, than surely everyone else noticed, even Liam. For every time someone reacted that way around Liam, Theo always saw a hint of hurt floating through his eyes. It was slight, and it was crushed before Liam could express the emotion, but Theo had picked up on it.

 

And like the reactions, if Theo had picked up on it, everyone else knew it too, and they did _nothing_ to stop their reactions. It made Theo angry with every one whenever he saw it happen.

 

But, Theo was happier with himself than he had been in a long time, and if it hadn’t been for Liam, he would never have felt like he did now. He was still seeing James for therapy every Friday after school, and every session he felt lighter walking out than he had walking in. He was in no way suddenly cured of his problems, and he knew that many would still haunt him in the future, but he was happy. For now.

 

But everything came crashing down one Wednesday after gym class.

 

He wouldn’t normally have bothered with gym, deeming it a waste of time and preferring to write. That wasn’t to say he didn’t work out, no. He preferred to do that on his own time. But when he was at school, he preferred to skip the class.

 

He probably would have met Liam a lot earlier than he had if he had bothered going to the class, since they shared the same period of gym. So of course, when he found out he had Liam had gym class on their final period on Wednesday, of course he decided to start showing up. Any excuse to look at Liam half naked was a good one.

 

He hadn’t had time to dump his books in his locker, so he had merely grabbed his gym clothes and changed in the locker room and left his bag next to Liam’s. So when he found his journal missing, he of course started to worry.

 

“Liam” Theo asked, voice higher than normal. He didn’t want the contents of that journal read out. “Have you seen my journal today?”

 

“Not since English, no” Liam said as he stood from tying his shoes, hair pulled back into a messy bun. He had been doing it a lot lately, and his hair was a lot longer than it had been a month ago. Maybe that was why, but Theo loved the look on him anyway. “Did you put it in your locker on the way here?”

 

“No, I didn’t have time to go back. I was too busy talking to Miss Marcolin and was almost late, remember?” Theo said, rifling through the contents of his bag. “Where did it go?”

 

“Well it has to be here somewhere. It’s not like it grew feet and walked off” Liam said as he knelt down, going through the combined contents of their bags.

 

Five minutes later and they still hadn’t found it, the ground around them strewn with clothes and other books, but there was no sign of the leather-bound journal anywhere to be seen. They slowly packed everything around them back into their bags before they stood, making their way out of the locker room.

 

“Maybe we should go to the head office?” Liam asked, eyes staring ahead and unfocused as he thought about who to go to for help. “You might have left it in out English class, and Miss Marcolin has it. We could go and ask her?”

 

“Maybe” Theo muttered, eyes downcast as he wracked his mind for an answer. He didn’t know what had happened to the book, but he needed it back soon. He hadn’t been able to find a way to write Tara out of the corner he had written her into, but he thought he had an idea. Hoped he had an idea.

 

Someone slammed into his shoulder, sending him tumbling, before Liam grabbed a hold of him, stopping him from faceplanting into the concrete. He turned, finding the guy who had slammed into him jogging backwards in the direction they had come from, a concerned look on his face. “Sorry bro” he called back to Theo. “Everyone’s heading to the common. Stilinski’s got an announcement to make.”

 

Theo’s blood ran cold at the words, and he felt Liam’s hand gripping his arm tighten in a vice like grip. He turned to look at Liam and was shocked to find the normally calm façade replaced with a seething mask of pure rage. Liam turned to him, eyes burning, but he seemed to push past it for a moment, calming slightly as he looked at Theo. “I think I know where your journal went” was all he said, before they were both sprinting towards the student common.

 

***

Stilinski stood on top of one of the benches, a crowd of students filling the student common around him. In his hands was the familiar leather journal that Theo carried around with him, and Stiles was there shouting its contents out to the world.

 

Liam saw red as he pushed his way through the crowd. Stilinski was so going to get what was coming to him.

 

Theo simply followed behind him at a sedate pace, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. He drew in on himself with every step, and by the time the reached Stilinski, he had returned to the façade he had had in place when Liam first met him. That of a dejected, reclusive outcast.

 

Liam felt his heart break at the sight of Theo, his rage dimming slightly as he looked upon the broken boy. _His_ broken boy. Liam reached a hand out, grasping Theo’s shoulder. He jumped slightly at the sudden contact, but looked up, finding Liam staring into his eyes.

 

“Everything’s going to be alright Theo” Liam said, rage now a low simmer under his skin. He knew it was there, ready to burst out at a moments notice, but something about Theo pushed the rage back. He didn’t want to ruin what he and Theo had built up between the two of them, and he was glad that his IED seemed to agree with him for once. And despite what was happening around them, Theo seemed to be coming back out of his shell under Liam’s watchful gaze.

 

Until Stilinski opened his fat mouth.

 

“I see the murderer has decided to deign us with his presence” Stilinski shouted out, earning a round of laughter from the crowd around them. Hands reached out, pulling and pushing both Theo and Liam to the front, until they were standing in front of Stilinski, still standing on the wooden bench. “And you brought a little friend with you? How sweet. Is he going to be you next victim?”

 

Liam glanced over to Theo, despair filling him as he watched the care free façade slip away to be replaced by one of stony silence. But there was a look of anger in his eyes, a boiling rage that seemed to match Liam’s own. But still, Theo remained silent. So, Liam stepped forward instead, defending his friend where no one else would.

 

“Stilinski” Liam growled out, voice filled with the rage threatening to boil over inside of him. “Why don’t you step down from there and we talk this out? Preferably before someone gets hurt.”

 

“You want me to talk to the murderer?” Stilinski asked, a look of mock hurt on his face, hand over his heart in fake shock. “I’ll have you know, I don’t associate myself with murderers, unlike you.”

 

Liam was seething now, and he raised his foot, as if to move forward and attack Stilinski, but a familiar weight on his shoulder stopped him before he could do anything stupid. He turned, seeing Theo’s resigned expression on his face. Theo shook his head slightly, before he turned back to Stilinski.

 

“What do you know of that night?” Theo said, quietly. The crowd around him quietened, the silence spreading like ripples through a pond before the entire student common was silent.

 

“What was that, murderer? I didn’t quite catch that” Stilinski mocked, holding a hand up to his ear.

 

“I said” Theo shouted out, and this time his voice carried through the common, crystal clear to everyone. “What do you know of that night? The night I killed my family?”

 

Stilinski laughed instead of answering, a full-blown cackle of a laugh. Liam so wanted to punch him, punch him until Stilinski couldn’t laugh like that ever again, but Theo’s steady hand kept him rooted to the spot.

 

“I don’t need to know anything about that night, when you just admitted to killing them, murderer” Stilinski finally said, standing up straight, cupping his hands to his mouth and shouting out “Did you all hear that? He admitted to killing his family. Like the murderer he is.” He said this last part to Theo with a murderous glare.

 

Theo didn’t react to the comments, instead moving to climb up on to the bench next to Stilinski. Liam made as if to climb up with him, but a hand on his chest and a shake of Theo’s head kept him rooted to the spot.

 

“I see you’ve made an attack dog out of our resident time bomb” Stilinski howled out, laughter racking his body.

 

Theo stood there, still as a statue, an eyebrow raised as he calmly examined his nails, as if bored. Liam was struck by the similarity Theo made with Stilinski all those weeks ago, back in the locker room. But where Stilinski had been malicious and spiteful. Theo seemed… calm, and collected, despite the circumstances.

 

“Are you finished?” He asked, eyebrow still raised in Stilinski’s direction. Stilinski nodded his head, standing up straight, glaring at Theo as he did so.

 

The punch to the gut had him reeling back over, coughing at the sudden impact and groaning in pain.

 

The crowd around them took a collective gasp, not having expected Theo to do something.

 

“That” Theo said, his voice as cold as the arctic wind. “Is for calling Liam my attack dog.”

 

Stilinski straightened himself as much as he could, hand still clutching his stomach, but he froze as Theo grasped his shoulders.

 

“And this” Theo said, lips close to Stilinski’s ear, but still loud enough that everyone could hear. “This is for calling him a timebomb.”

 

And he pushed Stilinski off the bench, the crowd around the bench parting like the red sea so he landed on the soft grass.

 

“Now tell me” Theo roared out, his voice echoing through the common. “What do you know about that night?”

 

Stilinski let out a groan, as he slowly stood up, leaning against the bench Theo still stood on. He looked up at Theo, a look of fear flickering across his face, clouding his eyes. When he didn’t say anything, Theo picked up the journal from where Stilinski had dropped it and threw it at the boy.

 

“Read the first entry, out loud, to everyone” Theo gritted out, low enough that only those closest to Theo could hear him.

 

Stilinski did as he was ordered, flipping the journal open to the first page, and began reading.

 

“January 10th, 2016” Stilinski began.

 

“It’s been six years since that night, and I’ve finally decided to write down my account of what happened. My memory of that night is as clear as day, but I need to write it down.

 

“I need to talk about how I killed my family.

 

“At least, that’s how it feels. If I hadn’t been scared that night at the sleep over, I wouldn’t have had to call my parents. But I couldn’t stay at Stiles’ place any longer. His parents were nice, but Tara wasn’t there. She was the only one who could ward off the nightmares. And she was the only one who knew I was scared of storms, outside of mum and dad.

 

“I’m actually surprised that I’m not scared of them anymore.

 

“But the rain may have been heavy when mum and dad picked me up, but it only got heavier as time passed. We had to go slow, since there had been a traffic accident not far from the Stilinski’s, but the authorities say that it was only a matter of time before that bridge collapsed. It was well over fifty years old, and the rot had gotten too deep.

 

“They said it was surprising that it hadn’t collapsed before that night.

 

“But the raging waters weakened what was left of the supports, and the added weight of the car, plus everyone in it was enough to send it toppling into the flooded stream.

 

“I don’t remember much after that, only that I remember Tara pulling me from my seat and throwing me from the car. I know I floated through the freezing water for a while, gasping for breath when I could, but I couldn’t help but cry. Like I am now.

 

“For all I could think was that I was at fault for their deaths.”

 

Stilinski finished the entry, holding the book before him. But it wasn’t the look of someone who had realized they were wrong. No, his face morphed into a look of seething rage, one to match the rage growing inside of Liam.

 

“This means nothing” Stilinski gritted out, looking back to the page. “This _changes_ nothing.”

 

And then he _tore the page out and threw it into the mud_.

 

Liam’s anger boiled over as he let out a roar of fury, his vision tunnelling so all he saw was _Stilinski._ Stilinski and how he had to _hurt_ for what he had done to Theo’s journal, how he had tormented Theo ceaselessly since Theo had returned.

 

He distantly heard Theo shouting his name, but he didn’t listen as he tackled Stilinski to the ground, fists flying through the air. They collided with Stilinski, Liam not caring where he hit, only that he wanted to make Stilinski hurt for what he had done.

 

A crack rent the air, and Stilinski let out a howl of pain, and suddenly Liam was exhausted. He was battered with the sudden sounds of the surrounding students, some cheering Liam on, others booing, others screaming for help. He looked down, realising with horror that he had broken Stilinski’s arm, the broken bone piercing skin and bleeding onto the ground.

 

He stood from where he was crouched over Stilinski’s prone form, backing away.

 

He suddenly felt guilty for doing what he had, but he didn’t know why. He’d watched Theo as Stilinski had read out the entry, watching as anguish and grief warred for dominance on his face, watched as his secrets were spilled to the entirety of the student body.

 

But now, as he looked at Theo, all he saw was horror on his face.

 

A look of Horror, as Theo finally saw the monster Liam really was.

 

***

 

_The Kronan’s loomed over her, blade’s bared and raised as if to strike. The air and mist twisted around them as the blades fell, fell to where she was laying on the roof, ready to kill her._

I don’t want to die _Tara thought as the blades fell, eyes falling shut._

_A scream rent the air, as two figures landed on he ground either side of her, arms outstretched towards the Kronan’s. They each pushed against each other while pushing against a Kronan each, the force necessary to do so one that would have crushed the two figures. But with the right angle and the right power, they managed to do what Tara herself could not._

_The Kronan’s were lifted off their feet, blades clanging to the roof of the keep in shock as they were suddenly airborne. Each figure took a slight step forward, and then another, each step timed in unison. Tara watched in amazement as they worked together, pushing against each other as they did so. They both reached opposite ends of the keeps roof at the same time, the Kronan’s now floating over mist filled air. Tara watched as they stopped pushing against each other and the Kronan’s at the same time, tension leaving their bodies as the Kronan’s fell to the cobblestones below._

_A distant crash told all three Mist Walkers that the Kronan’s weren’t making it back up._

_Tara slowly stood, watching the two figures. They wore their hood up and masks over their faces, so she couldn’t tell any defining features, but she could see their eyes. The shorter of the two had bright, piercing blue eyes, brighter than the sky when it was free of ash and dust. The other had eyes greener than anything she had seen before, but there was anger swirling in them._

_She knew these people, and she knew they were mad at her. Horrified even, that they had almost lost her._

***

The car ride home was… awkward, to say the least. There was a tension that filled the air, and Theo so desperately wanted to talk to Liam. But there was something about the boy that was off.

 

To say that Theo had been surprised when Liam had pummelled into Stilinski was an understatement of epic proportions. And he may have been shocked at the way Liam kept punching the prone boy. But he wouldn’t say he was scared of Liam. Never would he say that. And he knew that Liam now thought he was terrified of him, maybe even horrified of him. But that was it, it wasn’t Liam he was horrified about.

 

It was just that… the sight of _blood_ that horrified him. The thought of having that previous, life giving blood spilling from you with no way to stop it was… horrifying. It was why he couldn’t stand seeing more than just simple cuts and scrapes. It was why he couldn’t stand watching action movies. And horror movies. And any movie for that matter that involved characters bleeding out. The sight of it repulsed him.

 

But Liam didn’t know that. He _knew_ he hadn’t told Liam about it, and neither of them had gotten more than a few cuts from the knife while preparing dinner the other week, and Theo hadn’t over reacted to that, so Liam had to think he was horrified of him.

 

But Theo didn’t know what to say to Liam. He looked so miserable, staring at the road and nothing else as he drove them home. What could he say that wouldn’t make him sound like a complete idiot?

 

A few more minutes passed as they drove through the town, before they pulled into the drive of Liam’s house. Liam was out of the car the moment he turned off the ignition and already fumbling with his keys by the time Theo had even gotten out of the vehicle. The door was slammed open, before the smaller boy stormed inside. Theo rushed forward, stopping the door from slamming closed and making his way inside. Liam was standing at the bottom of the stairs, wringing his hands. Theo went to speak before he was cut off by Liam.

 

“I… I’m going to go and have a shower to cool off” Liam mumbled, eyes downcast and his long hair covering his face as he looked at his feet. “And then I just want to… want to be by myself for a while, okay?”

 

He finally looked up at Theo, and his heart broke. He couldn’t form the words as he stared into the despair that covered Liam’s face. He looked away, nodding as he did so.

 

But Liam didn’t seem happy about that, and he turned on his heel, storming up the stairs. Moments later, Theo heard the water running from upstairs.

 

Theo sighed, not knowing what to do. He so desperately wanted to help Liam, to show him that he still thought of him as the soft, kind hearted boy who had taken a liking to him. But how could he do that?

 

He sat at the kitchen counter, pulling out his journal and a pen from his bag. His journal, the secrets of it’s contents now spilled to the other students. The sanctity of his thought now desecrated and defiled. But he pushed the roiling in his gut down, flipping to a new page and putting pen to paper.

 

He didn’t know how long he sat there for, writing down idea’s and scribbling them out when he realized they were either too ridiculous, far out of his range of abilities to do, or impossible. The shower shut off about ten minutes into his brain storming, but Liam didn’t come down stairs. Theo didn’t know if he wanted to see Liam either at the moment.

 

But he’d just finished booking an appointment in an effort to show Liam how much he meant to him, when he heard keys in the lock of the door, before it was being pushed open. There Jenna stood, framed by the low sunlight, as she marched in. She seemed upset but was relieved when she saw Theo sitting at the counter.

 

“Thank god you’re here” she said, setting down he hand bag on the counter. “I just got off the phone from the Sheriff and your principal.” She finally stopped, noticing that it was only her and Theo. “Where’s Liam?”

 

“In his room, apparently” Theo said in reply. He paused for a moment, not knowing how to ask what he wanted to, before just being blunt. “How much trouble are we in?”

 

She seemed shocked at the question, but she smiled, patting Theo on the cheek. “You’re not in any trouble at all. Not after what the Stilinski kid did to you. From what I’ve heard, most of the students sided with you and Liam when asked about what happened. The Stilinski kid wants to press charges, but his father won’t let him.”

 

Theo was shocked at that. Most of the students that had shunned him had stood up for him and Liam.

 

“But what did the principal say?” Theo asked, curious now.

 

Jenna sighed, but smiled all the same. “He isn’t expelling you, either of you. Liam has been suspended for a week, while you’ve been given detention while he’s suspended. Again, the Stilinski kid wanted the both of you expelled, but his father shut him up.”

 

Theo smiled at that, but as he checked the time, he jumped. He had somewhere to be.

 

“Uh, on an entirely unrelated note, can I borrow your car” Theo asked, his words coming out in a hurry. “The keys to my truck are in Liam’s room, and I don’t think he wants me bothering him at the moment.”

 

“Oh… he doesn’t, does he?” Jenna asked. But she opened up her hand bag, fishing around the inside for her car keys. “Here you go. Be careful.”

 

Theo nodded his head as he took the keys from her hand, moving around the counter to wrap her in a hug, before he grabbed his phone and wallet and dashed outside.

 

The drive was quick, only about twenty minutes away from Liam’s house, but he was there soon enough. The bright red neon lights of the tattoo parlour flooded the street, as he crossed the road from where he had parked Jenna’s car. He opened the door, a bell overhead signalling his entrance.

 

“Is there anything I can do for you boy?” a large, burly, bearded man asked from behind a small desk. He was wearing a denim vest over a white shirt, and Theo could see the tattoo’s that covered his arms.

 

“I have an appointment” Theo said, voice steady. He looked at his watch. “I have an appointment at six, in ten minutes.”

 

The man ran his finger down a list of appointment times in a diary on the desk, before looking back up at him. “Your Theo?” was all he asked.

 

Theo sighed as he began pulling off his jacket, revealing the tattoo’s he already had snaking down his arms. This happened to him _every_ time. “Yes, I’m Theo. And yes, I’m of age. Can we just get started?”

 

The man stood from the chair he had been sitting in, coming around the desk and holding a hand out to Theo. “Well it’s good to meetcha Theo. Names Gerald. Come with me.”

 

Gerald led Theo further into the parlour, the bright lights showing off the numerous tattoo designs plastered across the walls. He led Theo to a chair near the back, sitting on a wheeled chair and looking expectantly at Theo. “Well, what do you want and where do you want it?”

 

The simply pulled his shirt off over his head, before he explained what he wanted.

 

***

A sharp knock on the door pulled Liam from his spiralling thoughts. He felt numb, after laying in bed crying for almost an hour. He checked the clock on his bedside table. Scratch that, it had been well over an hour.

 

He distantly heard the roar of an engine, before the car pulled out of the drive and drove off.

 

So that’s how it was, Theo was leaving him without saying a word. He didn’t know why that hurt so much.

 

The door to his bedroom opened a crack, before Jenna stepped in, closing the door behind her. His room was as dark as he could get it, the way he liked it he had one of his episodes. She crossed the room in a few quick strides, sitting on the bed beside him. She reached a hand up and began carding it through his hair.

 

They sat there like that for a while, Liam feeling content in his mother’s presence. Theo leaving still hurt, but his mum would patch him up, in time. She always did after an episode.

 

She was the first to speak, breaking the between the two of them. “You’ve been suspended for a week. The Sheriff dropped any charges his son wanted to make, so you’re not in trouble. Everything is going to be okay.”

 

“No, it won’t be” Liam said, shaking his head where he lay. “Theo hates me.” He began crying again, pulling a pillow over his face to hide from his mother’s frown.

 

“Theo doesn’t hate you, Liam” Jenna said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. “I could never imagine Theo hating you. Not after everything you’ve done for him.”

 

Liam pulled the pillow off of his face, searching his mother’s eyes. “You didn’t see the way he looked at me, mum. The way he looked at me and saw a monster…”

 

“Don’t think like that, Liam Dunbar” Jenna said, cutting Liam off. “You are not a monster. Yes, you have your problems. But that doesn’t make you a monster. Besides, you have to remember, that is the first time he saw you have an episode. He’s never seen you be anything but kind to him. I’d be more concerned if you had directed your anger at him, and not the Stilinski kid.”

 

Liam looked up at her, searching her face for something, before dropping his eyes back to his hands. “It was odd. I wanted to stop Stilinski from hurting Theo. That was why I exploded. He just kept tormenting Theo, and no one was defending him. And he just stood there, taking the abuse. Like he’d been through it all before. Like it wasn’t a new experience for him. But, I don’t know how to explain it. But… he seems to calm me down.”

 

Jenna cocked her head to the side, before she said, “What do you mean?”

 

“Before I exploded, the rage was there, constantly boiling under my skin” Liam said, eyes wide as his fingers twitched where they lay. “But whenever he touched me, grabbed my shoulder or put his hand on my chest, or even just said something to me, even if the anger was going to spill over, it just stopped. And whenever I looked at him I just… I couldn’t be angry anymore.”

 

Jenna looked at him for a moment, before she whispered, “Did you tell him any of that?”

 

Liam shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks again. “No. He wouldn’t talk to me in the car and didn’t want to be near me when we got home. And now he’s left and I won’t see him again.”

 

Jenna scowled down at her son. “You do know he took my car, right? He said you didn’t wan to be bothered and that his keys were in here? He said he had some kind of appointment before he left. And don’t you tell me he didn’t want to talk. You know how hard it was for him to talk to me when we first met. He probably didn’t know what to say to you, is all.”

 

Liam looked up at her, a small smile on his face as he watched her. This is what he meant by his mum patching him up. She always knew how to declutter his thoughts, how to get him thinking and feeling again. He sat up, wrapping his arms around her shoulder in a loving embrace. He still had hope that Theo would be back.

 

“By the way” Jenna said, as he pulled back to look his mother in the eye. “You’re grounded for a month.”

 

“What, why?” Liam asked, scrambling up into a seated position. He was annoyed at the comment, sure, but he wasn’t angry. His mother was the one other person he could never be angry at aside from Theo.

 

“You broke some kids arm at school, Liam. Do you know how many strings I had to pull to get the principal to agree to only suspending you?” Jenna said, a small smile forming on her face. “Just be lucky the sheriff dropped the charges.”

 

She stood from where she had sat on the bed, hand held out to Liam. “Now I think your punishment should be that you have to cook us dinner every night that you’re suspended for, don’t you?”

 

Liam laughed, standing from his bed and wrapping his mum in another hug. He knew it could have been much worse, but he still had hope with Theo. His mother was always right with these things.

 

***

Theo’s chest and stomach burned where his new tattoos were, and he was glad he had worn a loose shirt. The thin material still scratched against the raw skin, but he was used to the pain. It was one he enjoyed, and one he would continue to enjoy for years to come.

 

He pulled up beside his truck in Jenna’s car, killing the ignition and sitting there for a moment, contemplating what he was about to do.

 

He knew how he felt about Liam, had known it ever since he had seen Liam walking through the halls of their school. And while at first he had been attracted to Liam because he looked good, Theo had since gotten to know Liam. And had fallen in love with him too.

 

He got out of the car, closing the door as quietly as he could, and then making his way to the door. He didn’t know why he was nervous, but he didn’t want to think about what would happen if things went badly. He’d cut all ties and get the hell out of dodge if it went badly, but he sincerely hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

 

He highly doubted it, if his suspicions were correct.

 

The door opened before he could grasp the handle, and Jenna stood there, a soft smile on her face as she watched him. Theo handed her the keys to her car as he passed. As he did she whispered, “He’s still in his room. He’s been waiting for you.”

 

He nodded in thanks, before racing up the stairs and to Liam’s room. He had undoubtedly heard Theo’s approach from the racket he had bad coming up the stairs, but Theo knocked on Liam’s door either way, waiting for a quiet “come in” before he opened the door.

 

The room was dark, obscuring everything bar where the light of the moon crept in from the windows crept in from the open windows. The stars were out and the moon was high and full in the air, illuminating the room in it’s silvery light.

 

Liam was on his bed, sitting there as if he were waiting for him. He was gazing out the window, and only now turned to see who it was.

 

“Theo” Liam shouted, jumping from his position on the bed and dashing towards Theo. He collided with Theo’s chest, wrapping his arms around him, and Theo inhaled sharply at the sudden pain.

 

Liam froze, before he dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back, eyes suddenly downcast.

 

“So, you do see only the monster?” Liam asked, not looking at Theo.

 

Theo cocked his head to the side, wondering what Liam could mean. But the only words that came out of his mouth were “Come again?”

 

Liam snorted at the joke, unable to help himself, and Theo rolled his eyes. Even when they were being all serious, Liam’s mind was still in the gutter.

 

“Repeat what you just said” Theo said with a sigh, moving around Liam so he could sit down on the bed, looking up at the blond.

 

“Do you only see a monster when you look at me?” was all Liam said, facing away from Theo now.

 

“Of course not, Liam” Theo said, his voice sincere in his honesty. “Why do you ask?”

 

“Everyone else does” Liam said, finally turning to face Theo. “After every episode of mine, everyone just looks at me like I’m some kind of monster.” And suddenly, Liam was crying. “And the way you looked after I broke Stilinski’s arm, I couldn’t help but think you did, and you didn’t say anything on the way home, and, and, and…”

 

Theo stood quickly, moving in front of Liam and wrapping his arms around the boy, pulling his head onto his chest. He refused to react to the pain on his chest, lest Liam take it the wrong way.

 

“I’m here now, Liam. I’m sorry” Theo said, pressing a kiss to Liam’s hair. “I didn’t know how to react to your episode. I’ve never seen some one snap so quickly. But that wasn’t why I was horrified, Liam.”

 

“Than why were you?” Liam asked, looking up at him.

 

Theo sighed, pulling them down onto the bed as he did so. “I’m not a big fan of bones and blood and all that. Just the sight of a lot of blood makes me squeamish. But the sight of a broken bone piercing skin?” He shivered, his face contorting at the mental image. “It wasn’t that you had done it. If anything, I applaud you for doing that. But it was the sight of it that horrified me. I’d never thought about the extent of what you could do when you snapped, was all. I didn’t want to pry, even after you told me about the IED.”

 

Liam smiled, head resting in Theo’s lap as he carded his hands through Liam’s hair. It wasn’t in the man bun that Theo liked, but it was soft and smooth, just the way he liked Liam.

 

“So why did you flinch when I hugged you a moment ago?” Liam asked, curiosity filling his eyes. “If you aren’t scared of me, what’s the problem?”

 

Theo smiled down at Liam, a wide, broad grin that came easily to him whenever Liam was around. “Because you hurt me you dummy.”

 

Theo stood, making his way to the light switch and turning it on, before grasping the hem of his shirt in his hands and pulling it over his head. Liam inhaled sharply at the sight of the raw skin and fresh tattoos that littered Theo’s torso.

 

Upon inspection, Liam realized they were words, quotes and sentences. Some were written in spirals, others in circles, others as simple slabs of text. He traced a finger across one, mouthing out the words before saying them out loud. “A façade is what we all possess, but on the inside, it stays a mess?”

 

“It felt right. I sometimes feel that way.”

 

Liam nodded, eyes grazing across Theo’s torso, drinking in the sight of him shirtless. It wasn’t the first time Liam was seeing Theo shirtless, but the way the tattoos seemed to just _work_ on Theo made him want to drool.

 

He found another, pressing on it with a finger. The muscle underneath squirmed and twitched at the touch, but Theo stayed standing still. “Do not mock a pain you haven’t endured?”

 

“So many people mock you for something that was out of your control, and they have no idea of the pain you’re going through, every day because of it.”

 

Liam nodded again, before searching for more. He found them all over, reading them out, while Theo explained why he thought it was important. But the final one he read out rested right over Theo’s heart. It was a small paragraph, a stylised _A_ sitting to the left of it, signalling the start of the sentence.

 

“A good friend finds you in the dark and carried you back to the light?” Liam muttered out, a small frown on his face. But then Theo’s arms were wrapping around him, circling him and holding him close.

 

“I love you Liam” Theo said, face buried in Liam’s hair, not daring to move or breath. “You were that friend, Liam, who brought me into the light, and I fell in love with you Liam. I want you to know, more than anything, what happened today changed nothing. If anything, it made me fall in love with you even more.”

 

Liam pulled back from Theo, looking into his eyes, looking for something, anything. He nodded, as if coming to a conclusion as well.

 

“I love you too Theo” Liam said, a blush rising on his cheeks as he did. “I didn’t realize I did until today, but I do. I really, really do love you.”

 

They both smiled at each other, before Theo said “I’m going to kiss you now, Liam. Is that okay?”

 

“Do you really need to ask?” Liam asked as he wrapped a hand around Theo’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss instead.

 

All Theo could think in that moment was how happy he felt as their lips met. He wanted this to last forever.


	6. Chapter 6

_Not a course for the faint-hearted_

_This journey that I’m on demands my all_

_I will overthrow my tribulations_

_And value what they’re worth_

_Let it be heard:_

_Gain control self-esteem, ‘til I reach my dream_

-Call of Destiny, Xandria

 

***

_Tara knew these people, and she knew they were mad at her. Horrified even, that they had almost lost her._

_The one with the green eyes pulled his mask and hood off, revealing a shock of black hair that stood out against the white of the surrounding mists. His face was contorted in anger, but his eyes swirled with worry._

_“Tara…” he said, worry and anger warring in his voice. He cleared his throat and began again. “Tara, what were you doing? Going up against two Kronan’s by yourself. You know how hard it is to kill them.”_

_The anger and worry still fought for dominance, but Tara didn’t care. She rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the boy’s neck._

_“I’m sorry Luca. I didn’t sense them until they were the only ones left” Tara muttered into his shoulder. She sniffled slightly as she pulled back, looking into the boy’s eyes. “And besides, I had orders to go through with the heist tonight. And why are you here? Weren’t you meant to be on the other side of the city?”_

_Luca was her older brother. They’d been separated as children when their parents had died, but had managed to find each other not long after Tara’s powers as a mist walker had revealed themselves._

_“We had new orders” the blue-eyed boy said, pulling his hood off as he spoke. He had a patch of golden brown locks to match his sky-blue eyes. Ashton, Luca’s partner in… well, just about everything. She didn’t want to know the details of_ everything _the two of them got up to. “We were sent orders about an hour ago to come and assist you. We knew of the Kronan’s through those orders. We were also sent to assassinate the Lord in this here keep, but…” he shrugged his shoulders, “…semantics.”_

_Tara smiled at the boy, pulling him into a hug as well. For a moment, everything was peaceful._

_And then the doors to the roof was thrown open, a stream of soldiers pouring out of the opening and surrounding the three robed figures._

***

Despite their love confessions, not much changed between them. At least, not physically.

Whenever they had been together, Liam and Theo had almost always been touching in some way. Hugging, holding hands, laying their heads in their laps. They had already been sleeping together since Theo had moved in. Theo felt safer sleeping with Liam, and Liam had been all too eager to share his bed with him.

Now that they were dating, nothing much had changed. They kissed and made out, hands running up and down each other bodies. They still hadn’t gone further, but it was something they each felt was something they could wait for. Both boys were happy with where they were and didn’t feel like going any further.

Today was a Saturday, a week after their confession. As usual, Theo woke up in the morning wrapped in the warmth of his boyfriend’s arms.

And boy was that weird. Not a bad weird, a good weird. Theo had never thought he would get a boyfriend, not while he was still in high school, but he did. And he had one as loving and soft and wonderful as Liam.

Today was the day of the biggest lacrosse game of the year, the Grand Final. If they won this, they would win the state cup. It was one game that, despite Liam’s suspension and string of detentions, he was allowed to play, being the teams star player. One that Theo was glad to be seeing Liam play in.

And it was such a big game of the year that there was going to be a festival running before and after the game. It was going to be a very big day.

But right now, he continued to snuggle up to the warmth radiating off of Liam’s body, turning around in his boyfriend’s arms so he could face Liam. He was wide awake, and much like Theo, had not moved, enjoying the presence and warmth they both provided.

Liam smiled a dopey grin at Theo. “Morning sleepy head” he said, voice rough with sleep.

Theo smiled in return, no doubt just as dopey as Liam’s, shuffling closer and wrapping his own arms around Liam’s torso, before leaning in and planting a kiss on Liam’s lips. Liam happily returned the kiss, running his hands up and down Theo’s back, his wide hands trailing flames across Theo’s skin.

 “Morning Liam” Theo said when they pulled back, resting his forehead against Liam’s. He loved moments like these, where they might as well have been dead to the world, where they were too absorbed in their own little world to be bothered with anything else. “What have you got planned before the big game?”

 “I was hoping we could maybe cook up some breakfast, relax a little before we head over to the festival?” Liam asked, his hands resting on Theo’s hips, thumb lightly brushing against Theo’s hip bone.

Theo simply nodded in agreement, groaning and shivering as the blankets were pulled back, piercing through the cloud of warmth that had surrounded them. But he stood from the soft mattress, pulling on pants and a jumper, and warm fuzzy socks to ward against the cold. He watched as Liam did the same, before they both went downstairs together, ready for a warm breakfast.

It was a little surprising then to find Jenna standing in front of the stove, still in her pyjamas, and apron around her waist as she cooked breakfast. The coffee pot dinged, signalling that it was finished, and she turned to pour some coffee when she found both boys standing in the door way, watching her.

“Morning boys” She said with her usual cheery smile. It was an infectious smile, one that made their own already large smiles grow a few sizes bigger. “I figured you would like a nice relaxing meal before the match, boys, since you both cooked such a wonderful meal last night. Now go and sit in the lounge, I’ll bring your food and coffee out to you soon.”

She made to turn back to the stove but stopped for a moment. “I’ve been called in to work today, Liam, so I won’t be there for the festival. I might miss the start of the game, but I will certainly be there for the end.”

She then made a shooing motion with her hands, one still gripped around the handle of a spatula, a smile on her face. They both murmured their thanks as they moved to the lounge, the red coals in the hearth filling the room with a comfortable warmth that had them relaxing even more.

They put the tv on, flicking through the channels before landing on reruns of the Simpsons. They left it on that, Theo avidly watching, having missed most of the show’s run while in the foster system and then living in his truck.

Liam, on the other hand, preferred to watch Theo. He preferred to watch as the light from the screen danced over Theo’s features, how he watched with that child like glee he had for anything he had missed since his parent’s deaths. It almost hurt watching Theo, but it was a kind of hurt Liam would gladly endure, if it kept that look of wonder on Theo’s face.

They sat like that for almost two hours, only moving to go to the bathroom and to put more wood on the fire. But their little bubble of childhood joy didn’t last long, when Theo’s phone started buzzing, the loud ringtone cutting through the noise of the tv.

Theo picked up his phone, eyeing the screen, before sliding his finger across it to answer the call. When Liam shot him a questioning look, Theo shook his head slightly before he put the tv on mute and put his phone on speaker.

The voice of the sheriff came through the phone’s speaker loud and clear when he asked, “Is this Theo Raeken?”

“That it is Sheriff” Theo said in reply. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I’m calling you in regard to your request” the sheriff said with an audible sigh. “I’m going to allow it, but only you. I don’t want Liam present.”

“I do hope you know he’s sitting next to me listening to this” Theo said, a cold tone entering his voice. “You’re on speaker too.”

“Of course, he is” the sheriff said in reply. “Look, after what happened, I don’t want Liam anywhere near my son outside of school. I hope he understands.”

“I do sheriff” Liam spoke up for the first time since the sheriff called. “But I hope you know, if Stiles were to ever do that again to Theo, I _will_ stick up for my boyfriend.”

“I don’t blame you for reacting the way you did Liam” the sheriff said in reply. “I should have put a stop to the bullying long ago, but… I’m sorry, Theo, for what he did.”

“It’s not you who should be apologising sheriff” Theo replied. “But thank you.”

They both heard a grunt of affirmation before the sheriff spoke again. “What time are you free today son?”

Theo looked to Liam, gauging their time free, before asking. “The pregame festival starts at three this afternoon, yes?” Liam nodded in response, before Theo asked another question. “And you need to be there at… what? An hour, an hour and a half before the game starts?”

“Yeah” Liam said, checking the time. It was midday now. “Coach wants us to help set up the fundraiser beforehand and then we’ll run drills a half hour before the game at half past four.”

Theo nodded in reply, before saying “I can be there at quarter to two?”

“That should be fine” the sheriff said in reply. “I’ll see you soon, Theo.”

“See you soon sheriff” Theo said, before ending the call.

He lay back against the couch, letting out a long, drawn out breath, before looking at Liam and smiling.

“Come here” Theo said, holding a hand out to the other boy. Liam leaned in, knowing that despite the calm, happy exterior Theo had in place, he was anxious underneath. He wrapped his arms around Theo’s shoulders, quickly taking his usual seat, straddling Theo’s thighs and sitting on his legs.

Liam smiled at Theo, and all of Theo’s anxiousness passed with that one, sunny smile. They both leaned in at the same time, their lips connecting in a slow, passionate kiss.

“I love you Liam” Theo whispered against Liam’s lips. It had been just over a week since they had confessed their feelings for each other, but Theo had found that he loved, more than anything, being able to be open and honest with the boy now straddling his lap. He loved being able to say exactly how he felt with Liam, and not be scorned or mocked like he had been in the past.

“I love you too Theo” Liam said back the moment Theo had finished talking.

They were pulled from their bubble yet again as their stomachs growled, telling them they needed to eat. They both chuckled before Liam was pulling himself off Theo’s lap, and then pulling his boyfriend up alongside him, placing a small kiss to his cheek once he was standing.

The next hour and a half passed rather quickly as they ate lunch, leftover beef stroganoff they had cooked the night before that they heated up in the microwave. They then made their way up to their room, cleaning up what little mess they had made over the past week, before they took turns having showers.

As much as Theo wanted to join his boyfriend in the shower, there was a time and place for everything. Before such a big game was not such a time.

By the time Theo walked out of the shower, it was quarter past one, so he quickly got changed into warm clothes, the wintery weather having only gotten worse as the weeks had passed. When they stepped out of the house to go to the car, Theo was not at all expecting the wall of cold air that hit him in the face.

“They want you to play outside in this?” Theo asked as they trudged through the mud to Theo’s truck. “In only shorts and a t-shirt?”

They both got into the car, Theo cranking the heater to max to get some warmth back into his hands.

“It wouldn’t be the first time they did” Liam said in answer. “And besides, if you think this is bad, you should have seen it last year. It started _snowing_ while we were playing. I’d almost lost the game because it was the first time I saw snow.”

“You mean you’d never seen snow before last year?” Theo asked with an incredulous look. “How is that?”

“I lived in Australia for half of my life Theo” Liam said with a deadpan expression. “The Australian Outback isn’t exactly known for its record snowfalls. And besides, Melbourne was more known for it’s wind and rain, much like Chicago is. And then when we moved over here it was straight to California, which again isn’t exactly known for record snowfalls.”

Theo smiled at the explanation. He always loved hearing about Liam’s life in Australia before he had moved to the states. It made him disappointed in himself when he couldn’t find the words to share his own life experiences.

But as they drove to the school, a thought popped into Theo’s mind. One that grew with every passing second. One that he knew would make up for his lack of interesting life stories.

Theo parked the car, but refused to cut off the engine, seeing as he had somewhere else to go. Liam moved to open the door, but Theo placed a hand in his arm, stilling him for a moment.

“Hey. When you win today-” Liam scoffed at the words, but Theo continued. “When you win today, because we all know you will, we are going out for dinner.”

“But I’m grounded” Liam said, a puzzled expression on his face. “I am for another three weeks.”

“Well, I convinced Jenna to… _forget_ that you were grounded tonight when you win, okay” Theo said a smile on his face.

In response, Liam leaned in and placed a kiss to Theo’s lips, both of them smiling through the kiss. Liam pulled back, leaning his forehead against Theo’s and bumping their noses together. “Have I told you how much I love you today?” He breathed out.

“Only about ten times today” Theo said with a smile. “You’ve gotta pick up your game. Normally you’ve told me that three times as often by now.”

They both chuckled as Liam leaned in again, kissing Theo yet again. Theo simply melted into the kiss, the smile never leaving his face. When they pulled back, Liam briefly checked the time, swearing loudly when he saw what the time was.

“Shit, I’m late already” Liam shouted, only making Theo laugh again as he opened his door and jumped out of the truck, closing it and opening the one behind him to pull out his lacrosse gear. “I’ll see you later Theo. Good luck with the sheriff.” He waved at Theo still sitting in the truck, and Theo waved back, a broad goofy smile plastered to his face.

He loved it when Liam was late because of him.

He put the truck into reverse, pulling out of the parking space, before returning it to drive and returning to the road. He didn’t know how to feel about the upcoming meeting he was going to have, but it was one that he needed to have. If only to set his mind and conscience straight.

He chuckled to himself at that. They would be the only things about him that was straight.

He turned the radio on, flicking through the stations, finding one that played a song that he knew. It was one that reached to him, spoke to him on such a level he almost brought the truck to a screeching halt in the middle of the street.

He now had a wonderful idea, one that now made this meeting he was going to have one that needed to be completed quickly.

He arrived at the Stilinski residence right on quarter to two, killing the engine and exiting the vehicle, locking it behind him as he made it up the small path to the front door.

The door opened before he had even made it to the porch, the sheriff standing in the doorway. He seemed… annoyed, but Theo knew it wasn’t him the sheriff was annoyed with.

“Sheriff Stilinski” Theo said in greeting. “I’m sorry that this is how we have to meet up after nine years, but it’s a pleasure to see you.”

The sheriff nodded in acknowledgement of the greeting, turning from the doorway to let Theo in and closing the door behind them, keeping the warmth of the house in.

“It’s certainly a pleasure seeing you again Theo” the sheriff said. “And please, call me Noah. I’m not the sheriff while off duty.”

“Of course… Noah” Theo said, having a feel for the name. It was odd, calling his child hood friends father by his first name, but he pushed the awkwardness aside. There were more important things to talk about. He looked around the familiar entry way and how it opened directly into the Stilinski’s lounge, but found no trace of Stiles. “Where is Stiles?”

Noah sighed in frustration, before saying, “He’s in the kitchen. I only just told him you were coming over to talk, and he isn’t happy.”

“Not surprised about that” Theo muttered, but nodded his head to Noah. “Okay then. Lead the way.”

Noah simply nodded as he turned and walked towards the back of the house, Theo following behind him. It wasn’t far, no more than a dozen steps before they were walking into the kitchen/dining area, Theo entirely unsurprised to find a furious Stiles sitting at the dining table.

“Why’d you let the murderer into the house dad?” Stiles asked with a snarl.

The jab at Theo… didn’t hurt him this time. He didn’t flinch at the words, didn’t step back at the look of fury on Stiles’ face. He didn’t react in any way. Normally, being confronted with his past would have meant he froze or run away, leaving the town altogether if he had to. But now, with Liam acting as his rock to cling to, his past was no longer something to be used against him.

That, and the fact that Stiles was still covered in purple bruises, a few stitches over his right eye and a cast covering the entirety of his right arm made it a little difficult to be intimidated by Stiles.

“Stiles, what did I tell you?” Noah growled out, jabbing a finger towards the skinny boy. “You’re one wrong move away from being sent to military school, bucko. So, hold your tongue.”

Stiles opened his mouth as if to say something but thought better of it and closed it again.

Noah turned to Theo. “Please, sit. Since you’re the one that asked for this meeting, you can speak first.”

Theo nodded his head, but made no move to sit down, preferring instead to stand across the table from Stiles. He took in a deep breath before he spoke. “I just wanted to say a couple of things before I leave for the game today.

“The first is that I want to apologise for what Liam and I did last week” Theo said, locking eyes with Stiles. “I just want you to know I wouldn’t have done what I had if you hadn’t brought Liam into it.”

Stiles didn’t speak, but Theo was surprised when Noah spoke up. “What do you mean by that?”

Theo sighed, having hoped it would be an in and out trip. But of course, people always had questions. “This isn’t the first time this has happened Noah. I suppose you could say that it’s happened so often that I’ve gotten used to it. I don’t react because it just fuels them on.” Theo turned to Noah. “Liam was the first person in a really long time that was actually kind to me with no ulterior motive. The second time we talked, he realized I had a lot of problems, and took me to someone that could help. So, when Stiles pulled Liam into it, I couldn’t help but defend him.”

Noah nodded in acknowledgement, sending a frown Stiles’ way. Theo took another deep breath before turning back to Stiles and continuing.

“The second thing I’d like to say is that I forgive you for what you did” Theo said.

As expected, Stiles couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “There’s no way I’m apologizing to a murderer. I was just telling the truth.”

Theo just nodded, a slight smile on his face. Noah, meanwhile, had a look of fury directed towards Stiles. The smaller boy gulped and looked away from his father, knowing he had crossed the line.

“I don’t need you to apologize for me to be able to forgive you” Theo said before Noah could say anything. “I just wanted you to know, Stiles, that no matter what you’ve said or done to me in the past, I will always move one. And part of moving on is knowing when to forgive someone, even if that someone refuses to apologize.”

He let out a breath, feeling lighter than he had since the altercation. “That’s all I wanted to say, actually.”

Noah turned to Theo, his face softening slightly. “Thank you, Theo.” He checked his watch, his eyebrows rising slightly. “It’s only two o’clock. Would you like to listen to anything my son has to say, or have you got something you need to do?”

Theo thought about it for a moment, before he nodded his head. “I suppose I can answer one question.”

Both Theo and Noah turned to look at Stiles. He looked like he wanted to say something stupid again, but he sighed, slumping in his seat.

“We were so close as kids” Stiles muttered. “We were as thick as thieves, and no one could break us apart. Why did that have to end?”

The lack of venom in Stiles’ voice stunned Theo for a moment, but he growled in the back of his throat when he regained his faculties.

“You want to know why it ended?” Theo asked, suddenly furious with Stiles. “We were ten years old and we thought we would be the best of friends. Don’t you remember, how you asked me to be your boyfriend, so loudly you got the attention of the entire cafeteria? How as ignorant ten-year old’s we thought we would be together and happy forever? And then a week later you took one look at Lydia Martin and wanted nothing to do with me? Don’t you remember that?”

Theo paused, and Stiles audibly gulped, the sound echoing in the silence of the dining room. But he wasn’t finished yet.

“Don’t you remember how your mother, in an attempt to get us to start talking again, invited me over to you eleventh birthday?” Theo asked, shouting his questions at Stiles. “Don’t you remember, how I saved my pocket money for a whole month for that new game you desperately wanted, took one look at it and said ‘this isn’t what I wanted’. Or how you snubbed me the whole night, refusing to talk to me while you talked to everyone else and fawned over Lydia? Because it seems like you don’t remember any of that.”

Theo turned away from Stiles, not wanting to look at the boy while he finished. “The storm was only a part of the reason I left that night, Stiles. It was also because you treated me like shit all night. That’s why I called my parents, Stiles. If you had treated me a little better that night, I might not have called my parents to pick me up.”

The room was silent for a moment, before Stiles’ voice cut through it like a knife. The words Theo spoke seemed to have gone in one ear and out the other, if his following words were anything to go by. “Is that why you fell for Liam than? Because he treated you better than you deserve?”

“Shut it Stiles” Noah growled out. “I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth.” He walked over to Theo, placing a hand on his shoulder, looking into Theo’s eyes. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to, Theo.”

Theo nodded, knowing that Noah was right, but wanting to also make a point to Stiles that his words didn’t hurt him.

“I’ll answer it and then I’ll leave” Theo said, and Noah nodded, taking a step back as Theo turned on his heel to face Stiles again. “You want to know why I fell for Liam? Okay. It was because he treated me like an actual human being. He was the only person to see me as a human being and treat me like a human being. And I fell for him. I fell in love with him because of that, Stiles. I fell for him because, even if everything around us crumbles to the ground, even if all of the stars fall from the sky… I know he will always be standing by my side. _That’s_ why I fell for him. And that’s why I will always love him.”

Theo nodded to himself, before turning away from Stiles and walking to the front door. He heard heavy steps behind him and knew that Noah was following him.

When they got to the door, Theo checked the time. It was only ten past two.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Noah asked quietly as he opened the door, letting the both of them out into the cold.

“There is one thing you could help me with” Theo said, already calm and thinking back on the song he was listening to on his way over. “Do you know where I can go to buy a guitar?”

***

_The reaction of the boys was intense and expertly choreographed all in one, smooth motion._

_While the three mist walkers stood in the centre of the roof, in between the two doors, it took only moments for Ashton and Luca to make it to either side, pushing against each other, their robes flapping dangerously in the wind._

_The mists flowed around Ashton as he stuck a hand out to the side, coalescing and solidifying into a formidable broad sword. He gripped the handle tight, spinning through the air as he flew, taking off the heads of three guards in one fell swoop._

_Luca, on the other hand, had formed a bow out of the mists, arrows forming and solidifying every time he pulled on the bowstring, launching volleys of arrows faster than a normal man ever could. He crashed into the chest of one guard feet first, firing one arrow into the eye of another, jumped off the guard’s chest and flipped in the air, putting an arrow through his heart when he faced him._

_Luca felt himself be pulled back through the air, a sword passing through where he had been a moment before. He put another arrow through the skull of the guard who had almost killed him._

_“Now” Ashton shouted, his voice carrying easily over the sound of guards dying and steel clanging._

_Both boys jumped into the air, pushing against the ground beneath their feet. Their trajectory went in an arc, and they passed each other in the air as they fell on opposite sides of the roof._

_Ashton landed in the middle of the pack of guards, spinning on the balls of his feet and taking out the legs of the guards surrounding him. When a circle of guards had fallen to the ground around him, groaning in pain and legless, he raised the sword over his head before slamming it into the stone roof of the keep. The blade buried itself into the stone easily, and Ashton jumped back as a pillar of flame erupted from the blade, increasing in size until it roasted the circle of downed guards and then more._

_Luca, after having let loose a volley of arrows onto the guards below had discarded his bow, the weapon dematerialising into the mists. He held one hand out in front of him, palm up, and the mists circled his raised palm, solidifying into thick chains that snaked from his palm and to the ground. One end of the chain ended in a vicious looking blade._

_He raised his arm over his head, spinning it around, the chain mimicking his movements, the blade at the end turning what would have been bruises and broken bones into severed arteries and amputated limbs._

_More guards continued to pour from the doors, despite the death and carnage that was happening around them. It seemed like this was just the beginning._

***

Liam was worried for Theo. He’d known that Theo wanted to meet with Stiles from the moment he had thought about it. Not that he really agreed with Theo’s reasoning behind it, since Stiles deserved what he got, and more, but he wasn’t going to stop his boyfriend from being the better person.

If anything, he’d been the one to push Theo to do it.

Despite that, he was of course worried. He had no way of telling what they were going to talk about, no idea of what was being discussed. Theo didn’t like talking about his time in Beacon Hills before the accident. And Liam understood the reasoning behind that. It hurt too much to talk about your life with a loved one you had lost. Liam knew all about that. Before he’d met Theo no one else had known he hadn’t been born in America. No one else had known he was really a foreigner.

All he hoped for was that Theo would one day open up to him like he had to Theo. And he knew Theo wouldn’t if he pushed. So, he didn’t bring up Theo’s past. He talked about his life in Australia, growing up in different cities and towns. His dad’s position in the military meant that he was being stationed at different military bases across the country, and so the three of them had been uprooted again and again until his father’s death.

It’s why he only ever talked about the years he spent living in Melbourne, just him and his mother. It was too difficult for him to talk about his father.

He shook his head in to free his mind of his thoughts as he helped set up another marquee. A look at his wrist told him that the festival that was being held before the game would start in another ten minutes. He looked around, wondering where Theo would be. People had started gathering around, looking through the few stalls that had opened earlier than they were meant to. Liam dusted his hands off, turning from the marquee to look at the stage that had been erected in the parking lot. There would be live performances tonight, both before and after the game. It seemed, however, that Liam and Theo would be missing out on the post-game performances if Beacon Hills won. Not that he minded, most performances at these things were mediocre at best, and he would much rather the date he and Theo were going on if they won.

He began to wander the crowds, looking through the various stalls. Despite the cold he only wore a thin jumper over his shirt, having tossed his jacket into his locker shortly after having started setting up the festival.

He roamed through the stalls, simply browsing, not looking for anything in particular. Most of it was home made crafts, bags made out of old clothes, home made ceramic vases and hand carved tables and figurines.

This last one he spent a considerable amount of time at, eyeing of a couple of wooden figurines. They were both wolves, stoic and proud. They were painted too, one a bright snow white with eyes as red as blood, the other a deep, starless night black with electric blue eyes.

He picked one of them up, wanting to eye it off a little closer when a voice to his left spoke up. “If you break it you buy it.”

He jumped at the voice, clutching the figurine of the white wolf to his chest, heart beating rapidly, finding an old man sitting in a wicker chair, a pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth. Despite his warning, he had a smile to his face.

“I’m kidding, by the way” he said, standing from the chair and holding his hand out to Liam. “Most of this stuff doesn’t break easily, so it won’t be happening anytime soon. The names Jeremiah. How can I help you?”

Liam eyed the old man as he placed the white wolf back on the shelf he had found it, next to the black wolf.

“The wolves?” Jeremiah asked, a wistful tone to his voice. “I thought kids your age would be more interested in that ‘Harry Potter’ stuff everyone finds so interesting. I’ve got some stuff if you want to have a look?”

“No, I’m good thanks” Liam said, his eyes dragging themselves back to the wolves of their own volition. “Is there any meaning to the wolves?”

“Not really, no” Jeremiah said hesitantly. “These were actually one of the first things I made, for my grandson. He’d be about your age, I think. But… he grew out of his obsession with wolves by the time I finished them, so they just sat on my shelf collecting dust. I suppose you could give them a story if you really wanted.”

Liam listened to the man, nodding along as he felt drawn to the statues. He turned to Jeremiah. “How much for the both of them?”

The old man seemed a little flustered, seemingly having not expected the question. “Ten dollars?”

Liam shook his head. “I’ll give you twenty for them” He said as he pulled out his wallet and dug through it for the right note.

“That’s too much for these” Jeremiah said quickly, moving away from Liam as he held the note out to him. “Please, only ten will do.”

“Please, take the twenty. They’re too beautiful for only ten dollars.”

The old man sighed, his shoulders dropping as he took the note from Liam. “Fine. Let me wrap them up for you then, so they don’t break.”

Liam nodded as he put his wallet back, watching as Jeremiah wrapped the statues and placed them in a bag for him to carry. He didn’t know what had come over him, but something about the statues had seemed to call to him. He thanked the old man as he took the bag before continuing his way through the small market, now crowded with people.

The stage that had been set up had been gathering quite a crowd, but Liam ignored it, for now, at least. He looked through piles of second hand books, buying armfuls of the things, obscure science fiction novels that no one had heard of, pocket editions of Greek and Roman myths, whole texts written in other languages that he swore he would get to learning to read soon (read: never). His arms laden with bags full of books, he made his way back into the locker room, dumping everything he had bought into his locker before returning to the market.

He didn’t look around the stalls any more. He had spent all of his cash already, so instead he made his way to the stage and the seating area that had been laid out in front of it. He had a seat reserved up the front for him as thanks for his help in setting everything up, and so he made his way through the crowds, looking for the seat.

It was right in the middle of the stage in the very front row, giving him a perfect view of the stage. There were already people performing on stage, and while they weren’t terrible, they weren’t playing the kind of music that Liam would listen to normally, so he tuned it out, opting to just relax before the game and wait for Theo to show up.

As the current act finished and the next set up and started playing, Liam checked his phone to see if he had any messages but found none. It was quarter to four now, and Liam was getting worried that Theo wasn’t going to make it.

Was everything okay at the Stilinski’s? Had Stiles said something that had gotten to Theo when nothing from the week before had? Had there been an accident Liam hadn’t heard about and Theo was simply stuck in traffic?

Or worse, was Theo _in_ the accident?

He shook his head of the dark thoughts. _Nothing is wrong, you’re just overreacting Liam_ he told himself _He’ll be here soon, don’t you worry_.

Another forty minutes passed, another two acts coming on stage and playing a few songs before leaving, and still no sign of Theo. Liam really was worried now, worried that something had gone horribly wrong.

The announcer came out on stage like he had for the last few acts as stage hands wheeled off the drums and other items that weren’t needed for this act. “We have one last performance before the team must get ready for the game. He’s promised me he only wants to play one last song, so please, give it up for Theo Raeken.”

Liam’s head shot up so fast he almost got whiplash at the announcer’s words, watching as Theo, clad in his favourite tight, white t-shirt and brown slacks walked on stage, the strap of an acoustic guitar over his shoulder as he held the neck in his left hand, the fingers of his right resting on the strings on the body of the guitar. A cord trailed behind him that was attached to the guitar, and Liam had a feeling it was connected to the speakers.

As Theo walked across the stage, he spotted Liam in the crowd, sitting dead centre in the front row of seats. He winked at Liam, and Liam felt his heart melt for Theo all over again. He could be such a sap at times, but that was what Liam loved about him.

Theo came to a stop right in front of Liam, where the microphone was and there was a slight pause as he adjusted it, so it sat right in front of his mouth.

“Afternoon everyone” Theo said into the microphone, his voice amplified across the crowded parking lot from the speakers. “Before I started I just wanted to say that this is for my boyfriend Liam. If there was any doubt to how much I love you Liam, I hope this song gets rid of it.”

He said the whole thing as he looked down at Liam from the stage, their eyes locked the entire time. Liam’s mouth hung open as Theo started strumming along on the guitar, a familiar tune wafting over the crowd.

_“When the night has come_

_And the land is dark_

_And the moon is the only light we’ll see_

_No, I won’t be afraid_

_No, I won’t be afraid_

_Just as long as you stand, stand by me_

_So darling, darling_

_Stand by me, oh stand by me_

_Oh stand, stand by me_

_Stand by me”_

Liam sat there in awe, Theo’s eyes never leaving his except to check the placement of his fingers. But otherwise, their eyes never left each other as Theo sang.

And though Liam had already fallen for Theo and his beautiful voice, he fell for him all over again as Theo sang, his beautiful voice filling the air.

_“If the sky that we look upon_

_Should, tumble and fall_

_And the mountain should crumble to the sea_

_I won’t cry, I won’t cry_

_No, I won’t shed a tear_

_Just as long as you stand, stand by me_

_And darling, darling stand by me_

_Oh, stand by me_

_Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me”_

Liam had tears in his eyes as he watched Theo play, listening to his voice rise and fall with the notes, so hopeful yet filled with anguish too. Liam just wanted to get up on stage and wrap Theo in a hug, bundle him up in blanket sand shield him from all the evil in the world.

But as he watched, Liam realised that Theo loved him more than he had ever thought someone could love him, loved him despite his faults and his problems. And that was what made the tears fall, the realisation that Theo really, truly loved him.

_“So darling, darling_

_Stand by me, oh stand by me_

_Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me_

_Whenever you’re in trouble won’t you stand by me_

_Oh, stand by me, oh stand now_

_Stand by me, stand by me”_

Theo’s voice fell silent at the last word, the guitar falling silent seconds later as he finished the song. He pulled the strap off his shoulder and placed the guitar on the stage before jumping off the edge of the stage and running forward, wrapping Liam in his arms and burying his face in his neck as the crowd around them erupted in applause.

They stood there for what felt like hours, both of them in tears as they clutched to each other like their lives depended on it, everyone around them cheering and applauding the two of them on. Theo pulled back only to bring his lips crashing down on Liam’s in a heated kiss. They were both smiling despite the tears, laughing against each-others lips as they continued to kiss.

This was what Liam loved the most about Theo. His complete and open honesty when it came down to them. He didn’t care what others thought about them, and, if anything, it seemed like Theo was proud for the two of them to be together. Proud that they could love each other so openly and so freely.

And that was all Liam wanted right now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter. I hope you all enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it.

Beacon Hills won the game after that.

Theo was unsurprised when he found that Liam pushed himself harder than ever, as if to impress him, to make up for Theo playing on stage just for Liam. But Theo loved it all the same, and when Liam scored the final goal of the game, Theo was standing off to the side of the field, ready and waiting for Liam as he ran to him, wrapping his arms around Theo and planting a kiss to his lips.

Jenna stayed true to her word, letting Liam and Theo go out on a date despite Liam still being grounded, and after a quick shower in the locker room to wash off the sweat and dirt of the game, Liam was pressing Theo up against his truck, kissing him like his life depended on it. Theo chuckled, kissing Liam back just as eagerly, before pushing the shorter boy back a little and looking into his face.

“If we don’t go now we’ll miss our reservation” Theo said, a small whine escaping his lips as Liam started kissing down his neck, biting and sucking along his pulse point.

“We will, will we?” Liam asked, pulling away and admiring the hickeys he had left along Theo’s throat. He sighed, but smiled when he looked up at Theo. “I suppose this will have to wait then, wont it?” he asked, placing another kiss to Theo’s neck, before piling his purchases from the festival into the back of Theo’s truck, alongside the guitar Theo now owned.

Theo jumped into the driver’s seat, Liam in the passenger, as he started up the truck and pulled out of the parking lot, driving through town to the restaurant he had made a booking at in preparation for their date. Unbeknownst to Liam, Theo had known that Jenna would let them go on the date whether Liam won the game or not, so he hadn’t been worried about having to cancel the booking.

It was a quick drive, one that was silent except for the radio softly playing in the background, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was a silence that was comforting for them to sit together in, one that didn’t force them to talk, didn’t force them to fill the silence with needless chatter. That was why they were going on a date, after all.

Theo pulled up outside a burger bar, brightly lit and half filled with customers. Theo watched as Liam’s eyes lit up when he saw the place, turning to face Theo. “How’d you know I wanted to go here?”

“You haven’t been able to shut up about this place since they opened, Liam” Theo said with a chuckle. “Or did you forget that?”

“They’re meant to have the best burgers in town” Liam said, smile only growing wider as he looked into the store, watching as staff made the burgers from scratch.

“Come on, this is only the first stop” Theo said as he killed the ignition and got out of the car, Liam following suit, as he made his way inside.

“What do you mean this is the first stop?” Liam asked curiously, eyeing Theo as he caught up, pushing into the warm interior of the restaurant.

“I have the whole night planned for us” Theo said, joining the queue. “But it’s going to remain a surprise for you.”

“What?” Liam asked eloquently, but they were being called up to take their orders, and Theo couldn’t reply.

They made their orders, being given their drinks and a table number, before they turned away from the counter, looking for a free table. They found one, a small two seater, in a corner at the back of the store. They sat across from each other, both smiling softly at each other.

“You didn’t have to pay for me, you know?” Liam said, eyeing Theo as he took a sip of his drink.

“I know, but I wanted to” Theo said, smiling back.

Liam smiled at Theo as well, before looking down into his drink. “I wanted to ask, when did you learn to play the guitar? You never said anything about having learnt to play.”

Theo’s smile dimmed slightly but it was still there, just not as bright as Liam was used to. “One of the families I lived with in the foster system. They were the kind of family that was all about artistic expression, using art and music and writing to express yourselves. I tried the guitar and found I liked it, and they paid for lessons and bought me a guitar. They were the ones that bought me my truck as well.”

“They did?” Liam asked, shocked at Theo’s words. “So why didn’t they adopt you?”

“It’s just like your parents and trying to adopt all of those foster kids” Theo said with a grimace. “They tried so hard to adopt me, but they kept being knocked back. Though, for different reasons, I’m sure.”

“What do you mean by that?” Liam asked, but they fell silent as a server brought them their food, plates piled high with burgers and chips.

They thanked the server, waiting until he had moved away, before Theo spoke, biting into a chip as he said, “The parents were both women. Kiera was bisexual, and Lisa was a lesbian who had been in a marriage with a guy before she realised she was into women. The two most amazing women I’d met before I met your mother. They had kids from previous relationships, and I fit in wonderfully. It was thanks to them that I realised I was gay, actually.”

“They sound like they would be amazing parents” Liam said, a fond smile on his face.

“Oh, they were” Theo said with a smile, biting into his burger. He let out a groan at the taste, saying, this is good”, before he took another bite. He swallowed what he had in his mouth took a sip of his drink and continued. “They were so great, and so kind to. Again, they bought my truck for me, let me keep it even though I was no longer living with them. They went above and beyond what they had to do as foster parents, and we thought I would be adopted. We all did. But no matter how much we tried, nothing happened. Eventually, Lisa was given a better job opportunity on the other side of the country, and she couldn’t refuse. I still keep in touch with them, actually. Once I turned eighteen I was no longer in the foster system and was kicked out of the house I was in at that point, since they were ‘no longer obligated to care for me’, so I drove across the country to see them. They were surprised to see me, actually.”

“Why were they surprised to see you?” Liam asked, placing his half-finished burger down on the plate.

“They thought I hated them” Theo said softly, looking across the table at Liam. “They thought I hated them because I wasn’t adopted by them, and that I didn’t want anything to do with them.”

“That’s… I’m sorry, Theo, that you had to go through that” Liam said, reaching a hand out and grasping Theo’s in his, smiling at him.

Theo smiled back, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss to Liam’s mouth, tasting the remnants of Liam’s burger on his lips. “Hmm, you taste nice” Theo murmured softly, as he leaned back, chuckling as Liam leaned forward, chasing after Theo’s lips.

“Are you saying that because of the burger, or because I actually taste nice?” Liam asked, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Why can’t it be both?” Theo asked, and they both laughed. “But anyway, they were also how I got into writing. I was still trying to get over the worst of Tara’s death at that point and they figured writing would be a good way to let it out, I suppose.”

“I’ve never seen your writing, actually” Liam said softly, a small frown on his face.

“I… haven’t shown you?” Theo asked, suddenly thrown off. He was sure he had shown Liam his writing already, hadn’t he?

Liam shook his head. “No, you haven’t. I figured you would show me when you were comfortable to show me, so I never asked. And, well… after what Stilinski did, I figured you wouldn’t be comfortable showing anyone _anything_ for a while.”

“Oh” Theo breathed out, feeling like he had been punched in the gut. How had he not shown his best and only friend, his _boyfriend_ for Christ sake, the only thing that had kept him sane for ages? “Can you give me a minute?”

Liam nodded, and Theo stood from the table, leaving his half-finished meal behind, making his way outside, but trying not to look hurried or rushed. He made his way to the truck, unlocking the back door and shifting his belonging around, lifting up the guitar he had bought earlier that day and finding his journal. The thing never left his side now, not after what Stilinski had done, so it was unsurprising that it was in his truck. Well, unsurprising to him. Liam might be.

He made his way back into the restaurant, the journal clutched tightly in both hands across his chest as he walked back to the table he and Liam had been sharing, finding Liam still sitting there, if slightly bewildered. Theo sat down in his seat, watching Liam, as he slowly and hesitantly handed the leather book over to Liam without a word.

Liam took the book almost as hesitantly as Theo did handing it over, moving his plate to the side and setting it down on the table, almost reverently. He looked up at Theo as he went to open the book, eyes glowing with a curiosity to know what was inside.

“You can read whatever you want in it” Theo said, pushing past the sudden lump in his throat. He had suddenly lost his appetite, and instead twirled his straw through his drink, taking a few sips as he watched Liam open the window to his soul, watched as his boyfriend’s eyes grazed over the messy, smudged handwriting that filled the book.

He flipped through a few pages, eyes glancing up from the book every few moments to look at Theo, but Theo couldn’t look back. This was the first time he had willingly shown his writing to anyone but Keira and Lisa, and even then, he had been apprehensive. But this was something else, this was Liam, someone he knew he loved more than anyone else on earth.

Ten minutes passed in what Theo thought was an uncomfortable silence when Liam finally looked up from the book. “Theo” he breathed out. “This is… it’s…”

“It’s terrible, isn’t it?” Theo asked, voice downcast. He braced himself for the backlash, but Liam’s words caught him off guard.

“What? No, this is amazing Theo” Liam squawked, and Theo jumped back at the intensity in Liam’s words. “Why would you think it’s terrible?”

“It’s what everyone seems to think, when they read it” Theo said, looking down at his hands. “When Stilinski stole that from my bag, I thought he would read out the bits and pieces I’ve written in it. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, after all. I forgot for a moment that we actually knew each other before the accident.”

“You never told me about her” Liam said as he looked back down at the page. “ _She flew through the air like a bird on the wind, one eye on her enemy, the other on her brother, as she held out her hand, the mists coalescing to form a dagger. She landed on the guards back, the motion sending the guard sprawling to the ground, as she planted the dagger in his neck. She released her hold on the dagger, and it dissipated back into the mists it had come from as she jumped towards her next target._ ” There was a pause as Liam read ahead a little further, lips moving silently as he read. “ _The massacre ended with the sound of armour hitting the ground, the metal ringing against the cobble stones and echoing through the mists. Tara stood to her full height as Luca landed in front of her, the chain and dagger he had used disappearing as he did. Ashton landed next to him, the spear he had staying solid as he kept his guard up. ‘Shall we go through the door, or shall we make our own?’ Luca asked with a smirk. ‘We’ll make our own, I think’ Tara replied, a feral grin on her face. ‘It’s about time he gets what he deserves.’”_

Liam looked up again at Theo, his eyes twinkling with curiosity. “Ashton and Luca?” was all he asked.

Theo smiled, a hand reaching up and rubbing the back of his head in nervousness. “Yeah… that, ah…” he stumbled over his words, not knowing how to get his thoughts together.

Liam chuckled, leaning over and planting his lips on Theo’s, silencing his mumbling. “It’s okay, I get it. It’s a way for you to let Tara live on. But…” Theo froze, watching Liam as he looked back down at the journal, closing it and handing it back to Theo. “You need to write more.”

“What?” Theo looked at Liam like he was joking. “Are you serious?”

“Of course, I am Theo” Liam said vehemently. “This is wonderful writing, and I want to see more. Maybe you could even get it published one day”

“But… but what if…” Theo sighed, struggling to find words when normally he felt like he had too many, but feeling giddy at Liam’s words all the same. “Say I do get this published… what if no one likes it?”

There was a slight pause, Liam’s head cocked to the side and his eyes closed in thought before he spoke. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” He opened his eyes, a soft smile on his face. “From Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I know why the caged bird sings, before you ask. Cause I know you’ll ask.”

Theo chuckled, unable to help himself when Liam knew him so well. He leaned forward again, planting a kiss to Liam’s lips, filling it with the passion and love he had for the boy and his writing, telling Liam through his actions how much his words had meant to him. “Okay, I’ll write more. Even if it’s just for you” Theo whispered against Liam’s lips as he pulled back. Liam smiled at him in response, before he pushed his chair back and stood, holding the journal in one hand and holding his other out for Theo to grasp.

“It looks like you lost your appetite, so how about we go to whatever else you had planned?” Liam asked, a look that was a cross between shy and enthusiastic on his face.

Theo looked down at his food, his stomach roiling a little as he took it in, nodding his head at Liam before taking his hand and standing from his chair.

They made their way back outside, hands still clasped together, until they made it to Theo’s truck, where Theo pushed Liam up against the side and kissed him. Liam eagerly returned the kiss, pushing back against Theo, trying to deepen the kiss further, but Theo kept pulling back, keeping it soft and simple. Theo chuckled as he finally pulled away and Liam followed him, chasing the kiss. When he realised he couldn’t get to Theo’s lips, he started to nuzzle along Theo’s jaw, nibbling lightly as he did so.

The sensation was starting to make Theo a little flustered, not used to such… obvious displays of affection in public. But he also couldn’t help his body’s reaction to Liam’s actions, his hands now roaming up and down Theo’s torso. He couldn’t help but want to get closer, slotting a leg between Liam’s thigh’s, pressing himself as close to Liam as he could and grinding against the Jock’s hip, Theo now painfully aware that Liam knew he was hard in his pants.

But, if anything, the hard bulge pressing against his left hip told him Liam felt the same way.

He pulled back further, stopping Liam’s movements, reaching up and clasping Liam’s hands between his own. Liam looked at him, a low whine escaping his lips as he was forced to stop, but he looked into Theo’s eyes all the same. “What happened to wanting to see what else I had planned for the night?” Theo asked jokingly.

Liam laughed lightly, kissing Theo before he pushed him away lightly. “Okay then” he said, nodding to the driver’s side door. “You know where to go, don’t you?”

“Get in the car and you’ll see” Theo said, walking around the car, noticing that Liam’s eyes never left him. “What?” he asked, as he pulled the door open, Liam following suit as they both climbed into the cabin.

“Just couldn’t help noticing how beautiful you are, is all” Liam said, smiling at the blush that crept up Theo’s neck and face.

Theo, as usual, didn’t know how to respond to Liam’s compliments, so simply turned the car on and pulled out of the car park instead.

***

Liam and Theo sat in silence as they drove through the streets, Liam staring out the window and watching the houses, and soon the trees, passing by them. It was a calming silence, one that washed over Liam and made him smile in contentment.

It wasn’t long before Theo was pulling his truck onto a gravel road, slowly making his way through the preserve and deep into the woods. The trees quickly grew thicker the further in they went, growing ever closer to the small road. Liam worried that any low hanging branches might scratch up the paint work, but Theo seemed to know that no harm would come to the car. It was like he had been here before, but Liam couldn’t for the life of him tell when he had been here.

They suddenly appeared in a small clearing, one lined with wooden barriers and lit by a few flickering street lights. It seemed odd and out of place, in the middle of the preserve, but Theo pulled the car up to a stop under one of the lights and killed the ignition.

“What are we doing here Theo?” Liam asked, not wanting to be afraid but not being able to quell the slight spark of fear that burned in his gut. He could never be scared of Theo, but he had seen enough horror movies to know what usually happened next.

“Are you scared Liam?” Theo asked instead, a smirk on his face, but when he looked at Liam the smirk fell from his face, being replaced by a look of worry and concern. “You are scared, aren’t you?”

Theo reached a hand out to Liam, stroking his cheek before gripping his jaw lightly, and Liam couldn’t help but lean into the contact, nodding his head. “Sorry” Liam breathed out, voice low. “I just… I can’t help it. My mind just can’t help but jump to the worst case scenario.”

“And what’s the worst-case scenario?” Theo inquired, thumb stroking Liam’s cheek softly.

“It’s nearly midnight, dark and in the middle of the woods” Liam replied, pulling out his phone and checking the screen once it was lit up. “We have no reception. All the signs of suspense in a horror movie.”

Theo smiled before he planted a soft kiss to Liam’s lips, pulling away slightly to rest his head against Liam’s, noses bumping slightly. “Nothing going to go wrong Liam, I can promise you that. We’re just doing something Jenna said you always loved to do when you were younger.”

Liam cocked his head to the side, curious. “What do you mean? What are we going to be doing?”

“You’ll just have to trust me, won’t you” Theo said with a smirk.

“I’ll always trust you, you know that” Liam said earnestly.

“Then it shouldn’t be too hard” Theo said as he pulled away, unbuckling himself from the chair and getting out of the cabin.

Liam watched him for a moment as he moved to the door behind the drivers seat, opening it and pulling out the guitar and a blanket. A moment later he unbuckled himself from the seat and was following Theo as he bade his way down a winding, narrow trail through the woods, their phones out and the torches on to light the way.

They walked down the path for about ten minutes, Theo making his way down the path, as if he had been down here before. Liam noticed other paths branching off from the one they were on, and Theo took one to the left, the path gradually becoming steeper as they walked. The trees grew thicker around them, a thick carpet of dead leaves on the ground below them, branches heavy with leaves and frost in their way, forcing them to either move around them or push them aside. Liam watched as Theo pushed aside a particularly large branch, covered so thickly in leaves that it blocked the sight behind it, and Theo motioned Liam ahead. Liam did so slowly, wary of the slippery ground beneath his feet.

He stepped into a clearing. A small stream stretched through, winding and bending through the thick grass. In the centre of the clearing sat a large stump, the top sitting probably two feet off the ground, and wide enough around that Liam figured he could lay across the centre and still have room for more. Flowers bloomed around it, covering the ground in a rainbow of colours, while the roots spread out in a lazy, weblike pattern. Though the colours of the flowers were muted from the light of the moon it was still a beautiful sight to see.

Theo passed him as he walked towards the large stump, sitting down on the edge and then dragging himself to the middle, crossing his legs and resting the guitar on the stump beside him. He patted the wood in front of him, a soft smile on his face, urging Liam to join him.

Liam did so without hesitation, his fears from earlier vanquished as he watched Theo calmly sitting on the stump. “What is this place?” he questioned as he climbed onto the stump, shuffling over so he was sitting in front of Theo, cross legged as well, their knees touching.

“This” Theo said, patting the stump they were sitting on, “is called a Nemeton. Ancient trees that druids of old are said to have practiced their rituals around. It’s said they even committed human sacrifice.”

“Creepy” Liam whispered, causing Theo to chuckle as he picked up the guitar, stretching out a leg and resting the guitar on it. “Also, so not helping the feeling of this being like a horror movie.”

“I promise, nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen” Theo said with a smile. Liam watched as his fingers lightly plucked at the strings, soft music filling the clearing. It was calming, and Liam started to relax. Theo was right, nothing was going to happen.

“It’s beautiful here though” Liam said. When Theo gave a questioning grunt, Liam continued with, “this… grove, clearing… whatever you want to call it. If people were really sacrificed here, it looks beautiful despite that.”

“Yeah, Tara and I used to play here all the time when we were kids” Theo breathed out, eyes downcast. “She’s the reason there’s all the flowers here. Otherwise, it was all just grass and dead leaves.” He paused for a moment, before he spoke again. “Another fun fact, they say the reason the ancient druids worshipped their gods here was because the Nemeton sat on an intersection of ley lines, and that it acted like a beacon to their gods… a gateway from their world to ours, almost. Some druids even say that you could use them to travel to different worlds, see how your life would be if you had done something different.”

“You mean like if you hadn’t called your parents that night?” Liam asked softly.

Theo nodded slightly. “Yeah, I always wonder what would have happened” Theo said, looking up to look Liam in the eye. “But I also wonder, now that I have you, would we have met, had the accident not happened? Would we have moved to another town, and you would be here, unaware of my existence? Six months ago, I would have done anything to change that night, but now… I don’t think I would, now that you’re here.”

Theo’s voice slowly stopped there, voice too clogged with emotion to say anything else, but Liam simply sat next to him, his hand on his knee, Theo’s rock in this tidal wave of emotion.

Liam, instead of speaking, looked around the clearing, watching the beauty through the muted light of the moon, the sound of the creek bubbling softly as it twisted its way past the roots of the Nemeton, the sounds of animals further out. It was calming, being here, just the two of them.

But Liam’s curiosity got the better of him, so he asked, “Why are we here? While I do appreciate learning more about you, I’m still curious why we’re out here at ten o’clock.”

“Look up” was all Theo replied with, pointing one finger up to the sky.

Liam allowed his eyes to look skywards, finding that they had a clear view of the night sky, uninterrupted by the trees or the annoying street lights of the town.

“Your mum said you used to love star gazing” Theo whispered, and when Liam looked back, he saw Theo gazing at him contently, the guitar silent as he watched Liam. “She said… it was something your dad… well, both your biological and step-dads took her on for their first date, and she thought it would be a good idea take you on our first date.”

He looked almost… afraid at Liam’s reaction, but Liam couldn’t help but let his heart soar for Theo. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Theo’s shoulders, one hand burying itself in Theo’s hair, the other grasping the pack of his neck, and he kissed him softly.

“It’s amazing Theo” Liam said as he pulled back. He looked up, pulling back slightly, his hands moving down to grasp Theo’s shoulders. “Do you know any constellations?”

“I know Orion, and that’s about it” Theo said, looking up to the sky. He searched through the tapestry of stars that made up the night sky, reaching a hand up and pointing at the three stars that made up Orion’s belt. “There, that’s him.”

“Everyone knows that one though” Liam said, looking to where Theo was pointing.

“Well, why don’t you show me some” Theo said, placing the guitar back on the stump next to them, shuffling a little closer to Liam, before they laid down on the stump, side by side, looking up into the night sky.

Liam searched the heavens, looking for something he recognised. It was a little difficult for him, what with the constellations being the wrong way to what he was used to, but he found a few to start off with.

“That one there, the bright star in the north” Liam said, pointing. Theo let out a grunt to say that he saw it before Liam continued. “That’s Polaris, also known as the Pole Star. It’s the star closest to our celestial north pole, so ancient navigators used it to tell where north was before compasses existed. It’s part of the constellation Ursa Minor, or Little Bear.” He trailed his finger through the air, stopping at a number of other stars momentarily, to end with a box with a line coming off of it. “See, the line is the tail, and the box is the body.”

Theo hummed as Liam spoke, and Liam looked at him. “You okay? Am I going too fast?”

“No, not at all” Theo said, turning his head to face Liam. “Just trying to picture the bear is all.”

“It takes a bit of imagination, doesn’t it?” Liam asked, smiling as Theo nodded his head.

“So, what’s the next one then?”

Liam looked back at the sky, his eyes landing on another star. He pointed to it, before saying, “Sirius, also known as the dog star-”

“Why does that sound familiar?” Theo cut in, sitting up slightly and leaning on his arm to look down at Liam. When Liam only raised an eyebrow, Theo huffed before he said, “Sirius? Why does it sound familiar?”

“Did you ever read Harry Potter?” Liam asked.

“I read the first three before the accident, yes” Theo said slowly. “Don’t remember much of them. What does that have to do with this?”

“Harry’s godfather, introduced in the third book, was named Sirius” Liam said. “Sirius Black, and he could literally turn into a black dog.”

“Really?” Theo asked. “That seems to be an… odd play on words.”

“She also had a character who was a werewolf whose name could be interpreted as ‘Werewolf McWerewolf’” Liam said, unable to keep a smile off his face as Theo started laughing.

Theo lay back down beside him, still laughing, and when he had calmed down slightly, he said, “Please, continued.”

“Right” Liam said with a nod, raising his hand up to point at Sirius again. “Sirius, also known as the dog star, is the brightest star in the night sky. Part of the constellation Canis Major, or Greater Dog.” He trailed his hand through the air again, pointing at the necessary stars. “That, and Canis Minor, are often seen following Orion.” He pointed to the three stars of Orion’s belt.

Theo let out another contented hum, and Liam continued, pointing out stars, giving little monologues about the history behind the constellations. Time seemed to pass slowly over them, as Liam talked, hands trailing patterns through the night air, Theo watching on with a smile on his face.

After probably an hour had passed, Liam yawned, loud and wide, as he tried talking about the constellation Hydra. He turned his head, looking at Theo, suddenly too tired to continue talking.

“You tired babe?” Theo asked, leaning forward and placing a kiss to the tip of Liam’s nose.

“Maybe” Liam said, letting out another yawn while Theo chuckled.

“Come on then, time to go home” Theo said as he stood, gripping the guitar in one hand and pulling Liam to his feet with the other. Liam made no protest, the exhaustion from the game and the excitement of the night suddenly getting the best of him.

It was slow going, Liam half leaning on Theo as they made their way back to the car, but they got their unharmed. Theo managed to get Liam seated in the passenger seat, buckling him in before placing the guitar in the back, hoping in the drivers seat and turning the car on.

“Liam wake up” Liam heard Theo whispering, his shoulder moving. “Come on Liam, we’re home now.”

Liam opened his eyes, blinking them open slowly, looking around the car and seeing that, yes, they were home, sitting in the drive way in Theo’s car. Liam smiled at Theo, who leaned over and kissed Liam lightly.

“Come on, up to bed” Theo said, motioning with his head to the front door. Liam was all too happy to comply, hopping out of the car and grabbing his keys, Theo following behind him as he unlocked the door.

It was a short trip up the stairs and into Liam’s room, where he collapsed on top of his bed. He heard Theo chuckling, before he felt hands on his legs, pulling off his shoes and then his socks, his jeans quick to follow. He then felt hands on his sides, before his shirt was being unbuttoned and Theo was pulling it off his broad shoulders. He muttered a sleepy ‘ _thanks_ ’ as he curled up on the bed, and heard the shuffling of fabric as Theo undressed, and then there was warmth on his back and an arm round his waist as the covers were pulled over them.

He quickly fell asleep like that, surrounded by the Theo’s warmth, snuggling back as far as he could as Theo squeezed him in, keeping him close during the night.

***

_Tara watched for a few moments as Ashton and Luca flew through the air, arrows flying and swords swinging, as the guards continued to pour from the doors. She looked to either side, watching as the pile of bodies continued to grow, as more and more guards reached the roof._

_“Tara, we need a way in” Luca shouted from one side of the roof, the chain spinning around in a deadly arc._

_“But the doors a blocked, there’s no way in” Tara shouted back, jumping to the side as a few guards made their way through the carnage. She spun in a circle, her hands out in front of her, the mists coalescing and solidifying, forming a large, heavy war hammer. Her hands gripped the wooden shaft, the momentum of her spin enough to crush the chest of the first guard she hit._

_The crunch of metal on metal, and the squelch of the guards chest caving in, echoed through the air, the other two guards stopping in their tracks at the sound._

_She smirked at the other two, lifting the hammer and hoisting it over her shoulder in a move that should have thrown her off balance. She jumped in the air, the guards turning and running from her, as she threw the hammer at one, the hammer head crushing the back of the guards skull just moments before it returned to the mists._

_She flew through the air like a bird on the wind, one eye on her enemy, the other on her brother, as she held out her hand, the mists coalescing to form a dagger. She landed on the guards back, the motion sending the guard sprawling to the ground, as she planted the dagger in his neck. She released her hold on the dagger, and it dissipated back into the mists it had come from as she rolled on the ground, coming to her feet in one smooth motion._

_The massacre ended with the sound of armour hitting the ground, the metal ringing against the cobble stones and echoing through the mists. Tara stood to her full height as Luca landed in front of her, the chain and dagger he had used disappearing as he did. Ashton landed next to him, the spear he had staying solid as he kept his guard up._

_“Shall we go through the door, or shall we make our own?” Luca asked with a smirk._

_“We’ll make our own, I think” Tara replied, a feral grin on her face. “It’s about time he gets what he deserves.”_

_Luca nodded, moving a few paces away, holding his hands above his head, forming a war hammer of his own. He swung it over his head, the heavy head slamming into the ground with a loud_ bang _. Tara and Ashton did the same, the war hammers quickly solidifying in their hands and slamming to the cobbles of the roof in unison. They repeated the action, raisin the hammers and letting them fall to the ground in unison, the sounds echoing out into the mists in an ominous rhythm as the three of them moved around in a circle._

 _Cracks started to appear in the roof, each time the hammer landed making the cracks widen out further and further, before, with one final, unified_ bang _of their war hammers, a neat circle of roof they stood on fell inwards, the three of them falling through the hole and landing lightly on their feet on the rubble strewn floor below._

_The lord they were after was standing behind large, ornate wooden desk, his hands held up in surrender, as if he had known they were coming already._

_“I give up” the man stuttered, falling to his knees. “I give up. Just let me live…”_

_“Not likely” Ashton growled out, a bow forming in his hand, and moments later the lord was dead, pinned to the wall behind him by and arrow through the throat._

_“Come one, once we find the gold, we can get out of here. We’ll be free of this place” Tara said, as she began her search of the room._

_It didn’t take long to find the safe it was hidden in, and a few good hits from a war hammer broke the door open, revealing their prize. They filled their pockets with as much as they could, as well as leasing documents to pull out more money from banks, before they left the keep, flying through the night air._

_The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when they got to the city wall, and Tara couldn’t help but think that they were finally free, free to live their lives how they wished._

***

Theo woke slowly the next morning, soft lips planting even softer kisses to his neck and shoulder, while a hand slowly ran up and down his side. He smiled softly, opening his eyes slowly against the low light of the sun filtering through the windows of the room.

“Morning babe” Theo croaked out, voice hoarse from sleep.

“Morning” Liam replied, pulling himself up to look into Theo’s eyes and place a kiss to his lips, soft and chaste. His hand still roamed up and down Theo’s chest, sweeping over the planes of skin and muscle. Theo jumped slightly as a thumb brushed against a nipple, the short jolt of pleasure unexpected but entirely pleasant all the same. “Sorry, didn’t mean that” Liam said, voice soft and low.

"I didn’t mean to stop" Theo whined out.

Liam did it again, his thumb brushing across the sensitive bud of skin, cause Theo's back to arc off the bed, pressing his hips against Liam’s. They both gasped, both surprised to find the other rock hard in their boxers.

"Is this okay?" Liam asked softly, pressing his hips down against Theo's, hard cocks rubbing against each other through the material of their boxers. "If you want to stop we can."

"Are... are you forgetting… hng, fuck... that _you're_ the one that wanted to go slow?" Theo groaned out, loving the friction of their cocks rubbing together. He bucked again as Liam tugged on his nipple this time, his cock rubbing along the length of Liam's. Liam seemed to be enjoying this just as much as he was.

Liam whined at the friction, not having expected the reaction from Theo. But he didn’t stop his ministrations, his other hand reaching up to rub and tug at the other nipple. The dual sensations made Theo's dick throb, a wet patch of precum slowly growing on the front of his boxers. "What if... I wanted to speed things up?" Liam asked breathlessly, eye's wide with lust as he looked down at Theo, enjoying the sight below him. "What would you say to that?"

"Only if this is what you want babe" Theo said with a smile. He wrapped one leg around Liam's waist before he spun them on the bed, Liam now laying down while Theo straddled his thighs. He started running his hands along Liam's stomach, playing at the waist of his boxer, his fingers running through the soft hairs of his happy trail, before moving further, fingers dancing along the smooth muscles of his stomach. "Is this what you want?" Theo asked, not wanting to go any further before Liam said anything.

He still seemed surprised at the sudden change of positions, but Liam nodded his head, hesitantly and then with more conviction, as if not believing what was about to happen.

Theo shook his head, leaning down and kissing Liam softly before pulling away. "Use your words Liam. If you don’t say yes, we don’t do anything."

He went to move off Liam, but the other boy’s hands darted out, gripping Theo's thighs in a vice like grip, the fingers digging into the muscle hard, but not hard enough to bruise. Theo knew Liam would never do anything to harm him, and he smiled, staying where he was.

"I want this, I really do..." Liam said softly, his grip on Theo's thighs slackening, falling to the side. "But I don’t know what to do..."

Theo was... surprised to say the least. He would be the first to admit that Liam seemed like he knew his way around the bedroom, and by the way everyone reacted to them getting together, it had almost seemed like a great loss for everyone else. Like he was off the market. Theo shook his head of his thoughts, leaning forward and cupping Liam's cheek in his hand. "Have you never had sex before?" Theo asked, trying his best to not sound accusing in the least.

Liam shook his head. "I have, just... never with a guy" Liam said softly, eyes averted as he spoke. "I just... don’t know what to do in this situation."

Theo chuckled softly, not unkindly, before he kissed Liam again, his hands running through the dense mat of chest hair as he leaned forward. "What position do you want to be in?" Theo asked against Liam's lips.

"What?" Liam asked, leaning up on his elbows, Theo moving back with him, hands still running through Liam's soft chest hair.

"What position do you want to be in?" Theo asked again. "You know, top or bottom? I do have a little experience, and it might be easier if I know what to teach you."

Well, the internet is back. I can continue now

"Can I... uh... can I top?"

It was asked so quietly Theo had to strain a little to hear Liam but heard it he did. He smiled, nodding his head as he did. "Of course, anything for you, babe" Theo whispered, kissing Liam softly before leaning back and stepping from the bed.

He could here Liam whining at the sudden loss of contact, but he stepped over to the drawer where he kept his clothes, bending down, showing of his ass through the stretched cotton of his boxers. Liam groaned, and he heard a soft slapping, of skin on skin. He retrieved the bottle of lube and a condom from the drawer and stood, turning to find Liam with his dick out, his hand running up and down the length of it, playing with the foreskin when he was massaging the head, his fingers coming away covered in drops of pre, before moving down, spreading the pre-cum down his whole length, before running back up and repeating the action.

It was a sight to behold, one that had his dick throbbing even more in his boxers, if that were possible. He used the free hand to push down his boxers, his hard cock slapping against his stomach with a light _smack_ before coming to rest at an angle, the tip drooling pre. His balls, large and heavy, swung free, and he shivered slightly at the cool air on his dick.

Liam let out a low whistle as Theo stepped out of his boxers, and it made him blush, not used to the adoration and love in Liam's eyes at the sight of him naked. Liam pulled his boxers all the way off, leaving them both equally naked, Theo standing at the edge of the bed, Liam laying amongst the covers, hand still slowly stroking up and down the delicious length that would soon be buried in Theo's ass.

Theo pulled one knee up and onto the bed, shuffling over to Liam so he could lean down and kiss him, his free hand reaching down and cupping Liam's balls. He gasped at the touch, his hips bucking, a line of precum shooting from the head of his dick and pooling on his stomach. Theo smiled as he leaned down, tongue out, laving it against the smooth, hairy muscles of Liam's stomach, gathering up the pre-cum with his tongue, before swallowing it down with an audible gulp.

He looked at Liam, a look of surprise on his face, and Theo could only smirk. "What?" he asked, voice husky with lust and love.

"I wasn’t expecting that" Liam said, voice hoarse yet filled with wonder. "My ex refused to do that."

"Well I'm here, and I certainly will" Theo said, the smirk still on his face. But it fell moments later. "Unless, of course, you don’t like that?"

"No, I do. It's fucking hot. It was always so hot watching guys swallowing cum in porn, I just never thought I’d see it in real life" was all Liam said.

"Well, I'll certainly do it more in the future" Theo said, smirk back in place, as he reached his hand down, batting Liam's hand out of the way and grabbing a hold of Liam's cock. The skin was soft but was sticky and wet from the pre-cum Liam had rubbed into it, and Theo slowly began jacking Liam off. He changed position, moving his head down to, tongue lapping over the head. Liam bucked his hips, trying to get more, but Theo put his hand on Liam's hip, holding him down. He opens his mouth and leans down even further, sucking the head in, tongue dancing around the head, before he slowly, _slowly_ , moves down Liam's cock, slowly removing the hand from Liam's cock as he did.

The head hit the back of his throat sooner than he had expected, three fingers still tightly wrapped around the base, slowly jacking off what he couldn’t swallow. He pulled back, until his lips were pursed just under the head, his tongue dancing around the head, dipping into the slit while his hand jacked Liam off, before he went down again, the head hitting the back of his throat. He tried to push further, but it was no good. He pulled back of with a light _pop_ , his hand still jacking Liam off, his dick now wet and glistening with saliva.

"How'd you like that?" Theo shyly asked, a blush forming on his cheeks. He knew it was odd, the sudden shift from cocky to shy, but he wanted this to be as enjoyable for Liam as he it could be.

"It was amazing" Liam said, his pupils blown wide in lust. He grabbed Theo's shoulders, gripping him tight and pulling him forward, kissing him, moaning when he tasted himself on Theo's tongue. "Why'd you stop though? I was so close?" Liam asked when he pulled back.

"I figured you'd prefer to move on to the fucking" Theo said in reply.

Liam's eyes widened at that, and he nodded his head excitedly. "I can get behind that" he said.

"Good" Theo said, reaching for the lube he had placed on the bed beside them. "I'll do everything now, but I want you to watch, okay? For next time."

Liam nodded his head, watching as Theo position himself so he was on his hands and knees, reaching back with one hand to spread his ass cheeks, showing off the tight ring of muscle that was his hole. He pulled the hand away, reaching for the bottle of lube and uncapping it. He repositioned himself, so he was sitting back against his calves while he poured out some lube onto his fingers, slicking them up to what he felt would be enough, for now at least.

He reached down, feeling Liam's eyes watching him, as he ran a finger over the tight muscle, shivering at the cool liquid. When he felt that he was sufficiently ready, he pressed a finger against his hole, groaning as the muscle stretched to allow him entrance, sighing when the finger sunk in to the base. He slowly fucked himself with the one finger, the tight muscle quickly loosening as he did. This wasn’t his first time, but it was the first time in months, so he was tighter than he was used to. He pulled the finger out, adding more lube, before reaching back down, sliding two fingers in.

The burn was more pronounced this time, but Theo relished it all the same. His fingers slid in slower this time, and he waited a few moments once they were fully buried inside him before he moved them, his breath catching as his knuckles caught on the rim of his hole.

"Theo, are you okay?" Liam hesitantly asked. A hand caressed his back lightly, a chill running down Theo's spine. "Don’t... don’t go too fast, okay. I know it takes time, but don’t go too fast to impress me."

"You... you've done this to yourself before?" Theo gasped out, his hole loose enough now that his fingers slid in and out with ease. He scissored his fingers, a moan escaping his lips.

"A little" Liam said, and Theo looked over his shoulder, eyes widening when he saw Liam stroking his cock. "But this is so much better, I think."

Theo groaned, his fingers sinking in again as he looked over his shoulder at Liam, licking his lips. Liam's eyes widened at the gesture.

"Fuck you are so beautiful" Liam whispered, unlatching his hand from his dick and shuffling over to Theo, his hands hovering just over Theo's hips. "Can I?"

Theo nodded, and then Liam's hands were on him, moving up his sides and back, leaving a trail of fire on his skin wherever they went. His hands wrapped around Theo's front, massaging the strong muscles of his torso, tweaking a nipple. Liam began pressing wet, open mouthed kisses to his shoulder and neck, and Theo could feel a smirk against his neck as his hips jerked when Liam rubbed against his nipples.

Liam’s hands trailed downwards, trailing their blazing path down his front, and then Liam's hand was wrapping around Theo's dick, wonderfully tight and pleasurable. He moved his hand up the length of it, fingers dancing along the head, causing Theo to buck back against the fingers he had still buried in his ass, Liam's other hand holding his hip tightly, not wanting him to move.

"You are so god damn fucking beautiful baby, i hope you know that" Liam breathed into his ear, his hold slackening from Theo's dick before being removed entirely, moving back to grab hold of Theo's ass, spreading the cheeks wide. Theo moaned as the action helped him reach that _little_ bit further inside. As Liam watched, he slipped a third finger in, and both of them moaned in unison, Theo in pleasure, Liam at the sight he beheld.

"I think I'm ready" Theo gasped out a few moments later, his fingers slipping from his hole. He wiped the excess lube off on his leg as Liam shuffled around to face him, their dicks brushing against each other.

"Yeah" Liam asked with a breathless smile, and Theo nodded. Theo moved, laying back against the pillows, shoving one under his ass so it was raised, legs spread for Liam. Liam hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Should I use a condom, or not?"

"What would you prefer?" was all Theo asked.

He hesitated for a moment, and Theo followed his line of sight, his own eyes landing on the still sealed condom he had pulled from the drawer. "Since it is our first time and all..."

"It's okay if you want to use one Liam" Theo said, sitting up and leaning against his elbows. "It doesn’t negate anything we do if you want to use one. It's perfectly fine."

"If you’re sure..." Liam said, still hesitant.

Theo rolled his eyes, hand reaching for the condom and tearing at the wrapping, sitting up properly. "How about I put it on for you?"

"Okay" Liam said with a nod.

Theo nodded too, reaching a hand down to stroke at Liam's dick a few more times, getting it to full hardness in second. He then placed the condom lightly between his teeth, leaned down, and pushed the rubber on over Liam's dick, his teeth lightly grazing against Liam's dick as he used them to push it on. He pulled off a moment later, using his hand to push the condom down the rest of the way, before sitting back, a pleased look on his face.

"Wow" Liam said with a gasp. "That was hot. How'd you do it?"

"Simple, really" Theo said with a shrug. "I'll show you next time, okay?"

Liam nodded as Theo returned to his previous position against the pillows, his ass raised. Liam picked up the bottle of lube, pouring out a generous amount on to his dick, slicking himself up, before he poured a little more on Theo's hole, using his fingers to spread it, the digits easily slipping inside Theo's loose hole. He pulled his hand away, grasping his dick with it instead, and lined himself up against Theo's hole, the head pressing against Theo's rim.

They sat there for a few moments, Liam's dick pressed against Theos lose rim, each one waiting expectantly for the other to move, to do something. Theo was the first to move, wrapping his strong legs around Liam's waist and pulling him forward slightly. He let out a strangled moan as Liam slipped inside of him, and Liam groaned above him as he was enveloped in Theo's warmth.

Liam slid the rest of the way in to Theo, both men groaning at the feeling as Liam became fully buried inside Theo's hole. Liam ground his hips against Theo's ass, laughing lightly at the moan that slipped from Theo's mouth.

"Can you... do that again" Theo gasped out, his eyes falling shut as Liam did as he asked, stars coming to life in front of his eyes.

"Was that good baby?" Liam groaned out, rolling his hips, a smirk on his face as Theo spasmed around him. He did it again, and this time Theo jumped back slightly, Liam's dick slipping out of him at the movement, causing both men to groan.

Liam stilled, his hands moving to hold Theo's hips, his eyes searching Theo's face for any sign of pain. When Theo finally opened his eyes, he looked up at Liam, a wondering look in his eye. "What's... what's wrong, baby?" Theo gasped out.

"I thought I hurt you" Liam breathed out, his hands moving up Theo's sides, his touch sending pleasant tingles through Theo's body.

"You didn’t hurt me baby" Theo said, leaning against one elbow and reaching up, trailing his fingers through Liam's chest hair, before gripping his shoulder. "It was amazing. I just... wasn't expecting that reaction."

"Oh... so... you still want to continue, right?" Liam asked, moving to pull out if Theo said no.

"God yes, I want to continue Liam" Theo gasped out, his legs tightening slightly around Liam's waist again, pushing him forward slightly.

"Okay" Liam said, pushing his hips forward, groaning as he was fully sheathed inside Theo yet again, rolling his hips just like he had a moment ago, but this time holing on tightly to Theo's hips, holding him down. Liam watched as Theo's back arched off the bed, as Liam pulled out slightly before pushing back in, rolling his hips as he did so. Whatever he did, it seemed to be good, as Theo's moans turned into a litany of words pouring from his mouth, _fuck yes, keep going, just like that, i love you_ and above all, _Liam, Liam, Liam_ repeated like a mantra, over and over again, the word music to Liam's ears.

Liam watched as Theo wriggled and squirmed beneath him in pleasure, loving the sight before him. But what caught his attention the most was the sight of Theo's hard, heavy and leaking cock, the head a dark purple, pre-cum drooling from the head. Liam brought one hand away from Theo's hip, his fingers wrapping around Theo's dick, stroking him in smooth, sure motions, the words pouring from Theo's mouth becoming more and more strangled, but dirtier with every stroke. Liam smirked at the sight, rubbing his palm against the head, groaning as Theo jumped, his hole tightening like a vice around his cock.

Liam rolled his hips again, loving the sight of Theo squirming around his cock as he did, the sudden tightness of Theo's hole adding a lovely bit of friction that was bringing him closer and closer to the edge. He removed his hand from Theo's cock, moving so their chests were pressed together, placing a kiss to Theo's jaw. Both of them were panting, as if they were close to their release. Theo turned his head, his lips brushing lightly against Liam's, and they both moaned, their lips tingling from the barest of touches.

"Why'd you stop?" Theo panted out, still pressing light kisses to Liam's lips, both of them smiling happily at each other.

"I love you, Theo" Liam said instead, his arms moving to wrap around Theo's shoulder.

Theo smiled back at him, wide and sunny, happier than he had been in months. "I love you too, Liam."

Liam kissed him again, holding the kiss as he pulled Theo off of the bed, his dick still buried in Theo, repositioning them so Liam had his back up against the head board and Theo was straddling his lap. Liam rolled his hips once they were both settled, Theo groaning and burying his face in the crook of Liam's neck.

"This is... so fucking amazing, Liam" Theo panted out, his breath ghosting across Liam's skin. Liam pressed a light kiss to the side of Theo's head, still rolling his hips upwards, chasing the friction this new position provided. He had one arm wrapped around Theo's shoulder, and one hand wrapped around Theo's still leaking cock, pumping and stroking with every roll of his hips.

A fire was burning in Liam's stomach, one that grew with every roll of his hips into Theo, every moan, gasp and word that poured from Theo's throat. "Theo..." Liam panted out, his hips stuttering and starting to lose their rhythm as he started to chase his orgasm. "I'm close... so fucking close."

Theo panted, his face still buried in Liam's neck, sucking on Liam's neck and leaving broad patches of hickeys along his throat. "I am too, Liam. I'm not far off either."

Liam's hand was still stroking Theo's cock, rubbing the sensitive head with every upstroke, pulling at the foreskin with every down stroke. It took only moments before Theo came with a strangled cry, as he buried his teeth into the meat of Liam's shoulder. Cum spilled over Liam's hand and covered their chests and stomach, and then moments later Liam was pushing him down as far as he could on his cock, before he stilled.

Theo couldn’t feel much, but Liam's own strangled cry was enough to tell him he was Cumming too, filling the condom with his own release. Theo didn’t move, Liam's hands on his hips holding him in place, but he pulled away from Liam's shoulder slightly, licking along the bite mark Liam now had in his shoulder, loving that it was _him_ who had put it there.

And then Liam's hands were no longer on his hips and he pulled off, both of them groaning at the friction the movement caused. Liam stood from the bed, slipping the condom off and tying it off, before throwing it in the bin, before he moved back to the bed, where Theo still sat on his knees.

"That was... fucking... amazing" Liam panted out, his eyes grazing over Theo's torso, loving the sight of cum splattered across his chest and abs. Theo's eyes never left Liam's either, loving the sight of his chest hair caked with cum too much to look away. Liam looked down, remembering how Theo had cum on his hand, the pearly white strands still sticking to his fingers. He reached his hand up tentatively, his tongue poking out and wrapping around a digit, and he let out a groan at the taste, cleaning off the rest of his hand in quick succession.

A groan from Theo brought his attention to the man still kneeling on his bed. "You are so fucking hot" Theo breathed out, his hands reaching out as if to grab Liam, but he made no move to leave his spot, so Liam moved forward, his hands gripping Theo's. "Let me clean you off, shall I?"

Liam could only nod as Theo laid him down against the pillow, the older man leaning down and licking up the cum splattered against his chest and abs. It was a sight to behold as Theo chased after every drop and strand of cum, his hands running through the thick patches of hair almost reverently once they were clean. Once every drop of cum was gone from his torso, Theo leaned up, tongue out, showing off the cum pooled on the appendage, before he closed his mouth and swallowed.

Liam groaned, leaning up and capturing Theo's lips with his own, his tongue delving into Theo's mouth and chasing after the taste that was just _Theo_. When they pulled back, Liam almost hesitantly asked, “Could I clean you up too?"

"Of course," was all Theo said in reply, moving to take Liam's place on the pillows. Liam, almost hesitantly, gripped Theo's thighs, leaning down over his stomach, his tongue out, taking a tentative lick of the cum pooled there. It was almost odd, despite his previous actions, but one lick was all it took before he took to his task like a champ, his tongue dipping and diving over every bump and curve of Theo's stomach, swirling around his belly button, before moving upwards, paying close attention to where cum had splattered and stuck. When he got to Theo's chest, he paid close attention Theo's nipples, loving the way he bucked beneath him. But Theo's torso was soon clean, and he leaned back, tongue out like Theo had done, to show off what he had collected, before he too, swallowed what remained of Theo's load.

Without warning, Theo's lips were crashing against Liam's, both of them moaning into the touch, hands roaming up and down each other’s bodies. When they pulled up, both of them still running their hands up and down each other's sides, they were both smiling, happy and giddy with love for each other.

"How about we have a shower, get properly cleaned" Liam started, leaning forward and resting his head against Theo's chest, "and then we go out for breakfast, hmm?"

"I think that sounds like a wonderful plan" Theo said, pulling Liam's head up and kissing him full on the lips. “I love you” he said as he pulled back, loving the smile it brought to Liam’s face every time he said it. He didn’t know why some people thought saying it would make the words meaningless, not when it brought such a sunny smile to Liam’s face.

“I love you too, Theo” Liam returned, wrapping Theo in a warm hug. “Forever and always.”

~~Fin~~

**Author's Note:**

> I drew inspiration for the little bit in Tara's POV from Brandon Sandersons Mistborn series. Well worth a read if you all have the time.


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